Iron Heart
by BuckytheMadHatter
Summary: An employee of the Soviets, Doctor Lacey Turner is assigned to revive a certain human weapon subject who will change her life forever. Set a few years before the Avengers. Bucky Barnes/OC
1. Subject 332

_A/N from Mad Hatter: All right, so you all will have to go easy on me, this is my first fanfiction for a while. I ecstatic to write another story and I'm kind of surprised I completely wrapped my mind around the entirety of this story and was able to think of a beginning, middle and end. (I usually get lost somewhere in the middle.) Anyway, FOR MARVEL COMICS FANS I don't claim myself an expert Marvel Universe. I'm not completely savvy, but I do know a few things..._

_This particular story is about Sergeant Bucky Barnes. It takes place after he is located by the Russians after his 'death.' I'm basing it more off the movies, which is what I know more about, so I'm setting it a few years before Avengers takes place. I don't know anything about the comics really, but I know they found Bucky right afterwards and revived him and refreezed him over and over? That's how he is the same age when Winter Soldier takes place. Correct me if I'm wrong! _

_Anyway, I'm going to have that they found him and injected him with the serum and kept him in the same ice state for years until they had the technology to bring him back to life. Sort of confusing, so I'm going to change it up a bit. So fans, please bear with me and be gentle with feedback! Anyway, I hope you enjoy, I've loved working on this very much. _

**By the way, I will also post the songs I listened to while writing each chapter, just for fun :) I'll post them like so:**

**Inspiration Music (lots of dark feels and quiet undertones while writing this one)**:

**-Main Title Theme Song (UNKLE Remix) by Bear McCreary from The Walking Dead OST**

**-Unidentified Main Titles by Trevor Rabin from the Race to Witch Mountain OST**

**-Once Upon a Dream by Lana Del Ray**

* * *

Iron Heart

Chapter 1

"Dr. Turner?" a voice erupted from the entrance of a small, dank office.

A young woman with long, dark hair wrapped into a tight bun sat behind the desk, writing furiously on a stack of papers. After a moment she slowly looked up and saw a Soviet officer standing in her doorway.

"The subject is ready for inspection. We've injected the serum and his body has been primed for the prosthetic," the officer said.

The young woman sat back in her chair and nodded in response, "I'll be up in a moment. What room?"

"217," the officer answered, disappearing into the hallway.

Doctor Lacey Turner sighed in exhaustion and pushed her glasses off the bridge of her nose and rubbed her eyes wearily. She'd been staring at the desk for entirely too long and was going to enjoy a walk around the confidential hospital.

She stood to open a filing cabinet and flipped through the alphabetical folders and quickly came to the 'W' section and pulled a file the read 'WINTER SOLDIER.'

She tucked the folder under her arm and briskly walked out of the office. She took a couple of flights of stairs and went down a dark, empty hall. The air was moist and musty and Lacey instantly thought of how poor of an environment it was to keep a half-dead ex-soldier. He would catch pneumonia before he got on his feet again.

Lacey stopped at room 217 and showed her ID to the two guards who stood in front of the door. They inspected the card and then stepped away.

"I'll knock three times if I want to come out," she said as she stepped inside.

Inside, she found herself in a damp, poorly lit room as well. She grumbled under her breath in irritation as she walked up to the patient laying still on the bed.

Subject 332: Winter Soldier. Also previously known in the forties as Sergeant Bucky Barnes.

His eyes were closed in his drug-induced coma and had a plastic tube in his mouth, assisting him with his respiration. The quiet repetitive hissing nose of the respirator, accompanied with the beeping of his heart monitor were the only noises in the room.

Lacey stepped next to him and looked over the work that the serum did. She had seen him only once before and back then he had been skin and bones with a missing arm left arm. He had been in suspended animation for over 70 years and he was finally brought of it a month ago.

Now, after given the serum, his muscles were swollen to the size that a normal human male and more, as if he were a body builder. His cuts and bruises were gone, but his missing arm was still gone. Even the miracle of the test serum couldn't fix everything.

Lacey walked up to his functional arm and took a tape measure out from her pocket and started checking the dimensions of his limb.

She leaned in and picked up his limp arm to wrap the tape around his bicep. She let her eyes travel up his arm to rest on his face. The muscles in his face were so relaxed, he almost looked like a corpse. His cheeks, upper lip and chin had a cover of thick scruff from not having been shaved in a month. His dark, brown hair was long, almost falling to his shoulders. His sculpted lips were slightly agape with the tube pushed between them. His nose was perfectly straight and his lofty brow untarnished, free from wrinkles. For a fleeting moment, Lacey wondered what color his eyes were...probably brown. She resisted the urge to gently push one of his eyelids up to check but thought the better of it and went about her work again.

She stood up to put the measurements in a nearby computer. Lacey nearly dropped the tape measure in her hand when she heard a horrid raspy, gagging sound emanating from the subject. Lacey spun around and saw the soldier's eyes fluttering and he was gagging against the respirator tube.

"Dammit!" Lacey exclaimed and grabbed a syringe full of a heavy sedative and darted it into the IV tube attached to his arm.

Lacey watched for a moment as his eyes dashed about the dark room, searching blindly for something uncertain. Lacey's heart clenched slightly when she heard him gasp out a whimper past the respirator before his body started to relax again. His grey-blue eyes looked frantic when they landed on Lacey before they finally slide shut again.

"Guard!" Lacey yelled.

One of the guards instantly stepped inside.

"Ask the nurse attending Subject Barnes to report here immediately!" Lacey commanded and the guard nodded and scuttled off.

The soldier shouldn't have woken up prematurely if the nurse had been caring for him properly. It was almost like torturing him to pull him out of the coma like that, with his body in such a state.

A few minutes later, a very young nurse ran in, looking half-asleep and disheveled.

"Are you the nurse who is in charge of caring for Subject Barnes?" demanded Lacey.

"Yes, ma'am," answered the nurse with wide eyes.

"Do you mind telling me why he just came out of his induced coma several moments ago? If you were following the schedule strictly then he wouldn't be waking up at all!"

"I've followed the schedule, ma'am! He pushes through it each time about halfway before expectation! I'm so sorry! It's the serum, it's making him reject the sedatives," the nurse explained.

"Well, that's something you should have told a supervisor, don't you think? Instead of putting this poor man through the agony of being woken up then submerged into a coma over and over!"

"He doesn't feel anything..."

"The hell he doesn't! Imagine being in an uncomfortable sleep and being woken up every few minutes by a bucket of cold water. And when you come to, you haven't a clue where you are. In his case, he's in a body that will be unfamiliar to him. Also, with his extensive head injuries he most likely will be suffering from amnesia! Now, imagine your whole body burning as your senses awaken, then you find yourself gasping for air past a large tube shoved down into your lungs. You can't move, you can't speak, you can't think, you can't breathe. Then shoved back into sleep just to be awoken again to repeat the process!"

The nurse visibly gulped and she looked over at Barnes with a terrified expression.

"I'm letting you go, nurse, for being so uncaring. Get out of my sight," snarled Lacey.

The nurse burst into tears and ran out of the room, causing Lacey to roll her eyes.

She walked back over to the subject and glanced over him. The thought of his ghostly eyes opening into hers made her shiver slightly. Even in his delirium, his intense gaze rocked her to the core. His eyes demanded to know what on earth was going on, even when he was on the brink of unconsciousness. He was a fighter, a true soldier that they'd found so long ago in the snowy mountain.

Lacey walked over to the phone hooked on the wall and she dialed the number for the head supervisor if the initiative program.

"Dr. Schweitzer," a gruff voice answered the phone.

"Hello, sir, this is Dr. Turner. I'm in the room with Subject Barnes," Lacey told him.

"Oh, yes, Subject 332. Have you begun the work on his arm yet?"

"Yes, sir, but I respectfully ask for complete charge of Barnes' care," Lacey stated.

"Request granted, but I'm inclined to wonder why?" Schweitzer inquired.

"One of the nurses posted to watch over him wasn't giving him the correct dose of sedative and he's been waking up every four hours instead of the expected eight. I want to make sure he is properly primed before he is completely awakened. I...I have a good feeling about him..."

The administrator made a grumble of wariness before he said, "I hear you using the words 'him' and putting hope in one test subject. I don't want you to call the subject by its name or even recognize the subject's gender. You're personalizing a tool, the subject is only alive to serve our purpose,"

"I'm sorry, sir."

"It's all right, Dr. Turner. I assign you to Subject 332, only if you remember what I've just told you."

"I will, sir. Thank you," Lacey replied and hung up the phone.

Lacey turned and looked at Subject 332...Bucky Barnes. He breathed rhythmically through the oxygen tube, body still as a corpse again. Lacey wondered what he was like, back in 1943...was he the dashing and brave type, or the quiet and wise type? Was he like Han Solo, a ruffian? Or was he like Mr. Darcy, smooth and estranged. He was a person; he was living, thinking person years and years ago. He once possessed a personality, he had hopes and most likely a family...

Lacy pushed up her glasses and rubbed her eyes again. She knew it was wiser to think of him only as a vessel. It made seeing a human being in such a wretched state a horrid sight.

Lacey shook her head and went to the door and rapped three times.

A guard opened the door and Lacey asked, "Don't let anyone else in here but me without my permission, Director Schweitzer's orders."

"Yes, ma'am," the guard said.

"And would one of you please go to the armory and pick up the order of items I need for Subject 322's arm?" requested Lacey.

"I will be back with your request shortly, ma'am," the guard answered and disappeared while the other took his place in the front of the door.

Lacey stepped back and looked at Barnes, knowing it would be a long night of work ahead of her for his cybernetic arm.

* * *

**Kind comments, compliments, and constructive criticism are always welcome! Please let me know what you think of the first chapter!**

**~Mad Hatter**


	2. I'm Waking Up

_A/N from Mad Hatter: Thank you so much for the reviews! I feel more comfortable continuing this story with your support! _

_Now, this is the chapter where I take a few liberties in my 'I am not a comic savvy person' state. I don't know what Bucky's cybernetic arm is made out of, but adamantium sounded like a fantastic plating to me! Again, please be gentle! First fic in a while! Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 2

I'm Waking Up

**Inspiration Music (a little epicness for the road):**

**-Ironheart by Two Steps from Hell (yes, I named my fic after this song!)**

**-Radioactive by Imagine Dragons**

**-What Are You Going to Do When you Are Not Saving the World? By Hans Zimmer**

**-Dream is Collapsing by Hans Zimmer**

* * *

Lacey's eyelids were heavy as iron as she worked on finishing setting the adamantium plates against the newly constructed cybernetic arm.

Since her childhood, Lacey always enjoyed building things. Her father taught her at a young age how to work on car engines, and fix pretty much anything. Lacey smiled vaguely as she fused in the plates around his metal fingertips.

She finally set in the last plate and hooked in it into the nerve wire. She heard a satisfying series of clicks and whirring as the wires all finally connected with one another, making the bionic arm come to life. She grinned until the start-up process suddenly ended when the arm recognized that the body was on sleep mode.

Lacey pulled back and looked at her work, running her fingers down over his adamantium bicep and slid down to his faux-muscular forearm.

He was prepared for revival.

-x-

Only an hour later, there were supervisors, administrators and medics were flocking around the glass-plated balcony and in front of the door. Lacey requested only two choice nurses and two guards in the room in the event of emergency.

"I do not want you to approach unless I command you to do so," Lacey told them firmly.

"Yes, Dr. Turner," they all said.

Lacey smiled and then turned to look up at the superiors in the balcony and picked up the microphone that went over the loudspeakers, "Attention. Attention."

Their quiet muttering among each other quieted and all the men and women gave her their attention.

"We are going to revive Subject James Buchanan Barnes a.k.a. Sergeant Bucky Barnes, code number 332. He has had extensive time to heal from the injuries inflicted in 1943, which consisted of a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, a broken jaw, 5 broken ribs, a destroyed left arm, both femurs broken and several ruptured organs and covered in multiple lacerations. We set his bones and patched him up to the best of our ability, then he was put under in a cryogenic sleep to be preserved for the past 70 years. Last month, the director decided to have him pulled out of the preservation sleep. Since then I replaced his missing arm with a cybernetic arm. It's plated with the strongest metal we could get our hands on: adamantium. This high-tech prosthetic will serve as the primary source of his power, coupled with the super soldier serum we've injected. Now, I've gathered you here today to watch him be pulled for the first time completely out of his drug-induced coma. He'll most likely be confused and frightened when he wakes up, so just for precaution, please exit through the door behind you if anything goes wrong, for your own safety. Subject Barnes will be extremely powerful and dangerous in his new state, especially if powered by fear. With that being said, let us begin."

Lacey turned to Barnes and picked up a kick-start drug syringe and poked it into his IV. She gently pushed the syringe, injecting the fluid into his system.

She only had to wait a couple of moments before his heart rate began picking up on the monitor. His breath began to push past the respirator tube and to Lacey's fascination, his bionic arm lifted off the table and turned to sluggishly scratch at the tube.

She heard the group above exclaim and clap, showing their appreciation for the working arm.

Lacey stepped forward and gently eased the tube out of his mouth. He gagged and coughed until it was out, then took a huge raspy breath of air as if he were just surfacing from being held underwater too long.

"Shh, it's okay," she whispered as Bucky's eyes snapped opened and darted around in a panic.

His pupils constricted as his breath coupled with his voice, coming out as a crazed whimpering.

"Shhh," Lacey said again, subtly wrapping his wrists in the Velcro straps on the edge of the mattress, "Bucky, you're okay, you're safe. You're in a hospital."

Bucky's jaw opened and closed, like he was trying to say something. He looked around wildly before his grey eyes, tense with fear, landed on Lacey.

"You're in a hospital in Switzerland, Sergeant Barnes. You've had a bad accident, but we patched you up. You're absolutely safe," Lacey said, brushing a strand of his dark hair out of his eyes.

He froze and stared at her with wide-eyes, not moving a muscle at the kind gesture.

His tongue darted out of his mouth to wet his parched lips before wheezing out of his raw throat, "Wh-what am I-I doing h-here?"

"Mending. You've been out for a long time, Sergeant." Lacey whispered.

"S-sergeant?" Bucky stated hoarsely.

"Yes, sir. You were a Sergeant back in World War II," answered Lacey, glancing at the monitor for his vitals which were climbing.

"Back in W-World War t-two? H-how long have I-I been out?" he inquired, finally breaking his stare to take the time to look around at the newfangled gadgets that had progressed so far since the 1940s.

"A long time..." returned Lacey.

"A number!" growled Bucky through gritted teeth, which would have probably been a yell if his sore throat allowed.

"A little over 70 years..." Lacey said carefully.

"Wh-what?" gasped Bucky, blinking once before slamming his eyes shut against reality.

"I know this is a shock, Sergeant, but we're here to help-"

His grey eyes flew open again and he looked sharply down at his left arm.

"What the hell?!" he cried out as he got a view of his new bionic arm, "My arm!"

He tried to jerk his arms up, but his strapped wrists jerked uselessly against the sides of the bed.

"Why am I tied down?" he demanded, looking up frantically at Lacey.

"It's just a precaution, Sergeant, please calm down. We are trying to-"

"Help me?" Bucky's voice rose an octave, "The hell you are! If you were trying to help me, I wouldn't be restrained! Let me loose!"

"Sergeant, please-"

"Quit calling me a sergeant! I have no idea what you are talking about! Let me go!" Bucky yelled at her.

Lacey looked up at the roomful of spectators, relieved to see they already vacated. She looked back at the guards, who were standing rigidly, watching everything intently.

"Ma'am?" the guard asked.

Lacey made a gesture for him to stay back, then turned to Bucky again who was thrashing against his restraints.

"Sergeant Barnes!" yelled Lacey.

"I'M NOT A SERGEANT!" screamed Bucky.

"BUCKY!" Lacey called out, reaching forward to take his face between her hands, forcing him to look directly at her.

His eyes flicked wildly between hers and his chest was heaving, verging on hyperventilation. His skin was sweating profusely as the panic attack overtook him.

"Sergeant James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes. That's your name," she told him firmly.

He looked at her for only a second longer before his clenched his teeth and spat out, "You're lying to me."

"I'm not, Bucky, I promise."

A strange look came over his face. His brow furrowed as he turned his face away and lifted his strong arms upwards. Lacey yelped and jumped back as Bucky easily snapped the restraints. He sat up with a determined groan, the white sheet covering his body falling to the mattress. He stood wearing nothing but the black knit pants customary to patients of the Soviet site. It occurred to Lacey, even through her shock that she'd never seen the entirety of Bucky's serum-enhanced body. Lacey stared at his strong back, ashamed to find herself admiring the strong ebb and flow of the muscles stretching across his bones. His cybernetic arm only made his form look even more untouchable.

Bucky paused in the middle of the room and raised his arms slightly, clenching his fists and staring at the swell of his thick arms and large biceps. His long hair gently brushed his broad shoulders as he stared down.

"Barnes..." Lacey gently said, taking a careful step towards him.

His jumped and turned his head slightly towards her.

"I'm strong..." breathed Bucky, turning completely around and glowering at her, "If I've been asleep for 70 years, s-shouldn't I be weak?"

He pointed an accusing finger at her as he slowly advanced, "This is your handiwork, isn't it! You've prolonged my life for no reason but to make me into...whatever_ this _is!"

Lacey lurched back when Bucky gave a terrifyingly loud yell of anguish and whipped around to let his bionic arm crash into the two guards, smashing them completely through the opposing wall.

He swung around and reared back his metal arm and threw a punch towards the metal door, completely crushing it inwards and ripped it off the hinges. Lacey covered her mouth to stifle a scream, but couldn't only hesitate a moment. The renegade subject charged out of the room, Lacey hot on his tail.

To Lacey's horror, she realized that the guards had fled the hallways. A lone male nurse stepped out of one of the rooms, and upon seeing Bucky, the fool unknowingly stood up to the super soldier.

"Head back to your room, sir!" the brave but doomed nurse commanded.

Without hesitation, Bucky grabbed him by the throat with his adamantium fingers and pressed him against the wall.

"Barnes!" exclaimed Lacey, but it was too late.

Ignoring her call, Bucky put his human hand against the nurse's chest to brace him against the wall. He plunged his adamantium fingers savagely into the nurse's neck. Without one swift movement, Bucky ripped out the nurse's throat. Blood spewed everywhere from the exposed jugular vein on the pale, wide-eyed face of the unsuspecting nurse.

"BARNES, NO!" screamed Lacey, running forward to slam into Bucky's side, catching him off-guard and loosed his grip on the murdered nurse.

Bucky stumbled on a bit, but regained his balance quickly and pushed Lacey away with a lot less strength than she expected. She landed on her back, then scrambled to her feet to chase Bucky down the hall.

"Where on earth is everyone?" thought Lacey frantically as she rounded the corner.

She almost faltered when she saw him throw the metal doors leading outside open.

"Oh god, no!" she gasped and ran outside after him.

She slammed into something solid and fell down into the deep snow. She looked up to see Bucky glaring down at her. His arms hanging limply at his sides, chest heaving in exertion.

Lacey glanced to her left and right and saw why he'd stopped. There were massive amounts of soldiers surrounding the exit, all pointing weapons at him.

He leaned down swiftly and picked Lacey up by the collar then turned her around, tightening his cybernetic arm around her throat. Lacey cried out in defiance, but couldn't fight the metal grasp holding her to his chest.

Bucky turned to the soldiers and yelled, "You will let me go or I will kill your precious doctor here!"

In many cases, the soldiers would easily choose to shoot a meaningless doctor to make sure a subject didn't escape. But in this situation, Lacey remained one of the few who knew how to create cybernetic limbs and work with adamantium.

The soldiers all glanced among one another, then hesitantly lowered their weapons. Bucky walked slowly past the mob, carefully easing around, holding Lacey firmly as he backed out until they reached the large gate in the 10-foot high fence that surrounded the site.

Lacey cringed as Bucky switched his hold on her so that her throat became entrapped in his flesh arm. He reached back with the metal hand and crushed the lock on the gate as if he were wadding up a piece of paper in his palm. He pushed his back into the gate and backed away until they reached the forest that encircled the Soviet site.

Once they were a great deal away from the soldiers, Lacey felt her head become light with the restricted amount of oxygen entering her lungs. Just when she felt her eyes fluttering shut, Bucky let her go, carelessly dropping her into the snow.

Lacey landed and fell face first into the powder, coughing and gasping for air.

"Where the closest town? I need clothing," Bucky said sharply.

"What are you going to buy clothing with?" gagged Lacey, rubbing her raw throat.

A flash of anger reflected in Bucky's eyes and he stepped forward and reached in her lab coat to pull out a wallet.

"Hey!" snapped Lacey, reaching out to take it back, but was too late.

Bucky dumped a wad of cash into his hand and shoved it into his knit pant pocket.

"Tell me where the closest drug store is!" he growled.

"Drug store? Where do you think you are? Mayberry? We're in the middle of Switzerland. There could be a McDonald's and Wal-Mart in the closest town," Lacey responded, standing up and wrapping her arms about her cold self.

"I don't want to buy walls, I want to buy clothes!" Bucky snarled.

Lacey gave the super soldier an exasperated look, then shook her head, "Wal-Mart is a place to buy everything for cheap, which would be about 10 miles to the north. Luckily, we aren't too far off the beaten path since the world things we are just a laboratory."

Bucky turned and started to walk away.

"Do you expect that you can go into a store half-naked with an arm like that and not get asked questions?" inquired Lacey, stepping towards him.

"I don't care."

"Barnes, gallivanting all over the place in this terrain when you just woke up from a 70 year coma isn't a good idea! You're going to crash in a while and most likely it will be in the snow on your way. You're going to kill yourself," Lacey called out.

Bucky walked without hesitating barefooted through the snow, "I'll manage," he called over his shoulder.

Lacey scowled. There was only one way to capture him without sending him over the edge, resulting in taking more innocent lives. She had to wait him out. He would crash without proper rest from all his earlier exertion, and she'd be there to pounce when he fell.

"Okay, I'll see you later. Have fun on your trek. I'll just go tell the soldiers where you went," Lacey said, marching back towards the site.

Before she got even five steps away, she felt two strong hands grip her waist and spun her around.

Bucky roughly grasped her shoulders and hunkered down a bit to look her straight in the eye.

She gazed into his sharp eyes that were the color of a storm. He seemingly searched her own eyes for something.

"I suppose that it would be wise to bring you with me. Collateral aside, you know how my body will react to this poison you've put inside me," Bucky finally said, letting go of her and standing at his full height which was a good head taller than Lacey.

Lacey, satisfied that she got her way, nodded her head with a smile, getting a cold glare from Bucky in return.

"Come on," he said gruffly, grasping her wrist with his tight metal fist.

Lacey gasped in pain as Bucky dragged her through the snow. After a few minutes of pulling her through the knee-deep snow that she struggled to get through, he growled in irritation and stopped, yanking her towards him.

"God! Do you mind? I'm not a ragdoll-" Lacey's words hung in mid-air when Bucky pulled her arm and easily swung her into his grasp, holding her with one arm under the bend of her knees and the other around her shoulders.

Lacey froze and hesitantly looked up at Bucky's stone-cold face as he carried her through the snow.

"Y-you don't have to-"

"It would have taken us three months to get ten miles at the rate that you were going," growled Bucky.

Lacey shivered in Bucky's arms until they the finally saw the light of the town.

"You can put me down now," Lacey murmured, laying a hand against his broad chest just to get his attention.

He sucked in his breath sharply at her touch and Lacey quickly pulled away.

"You weigh nothing at all," Bucky said, jaw muscles visibly working under his skin.

Lacey wasn't sure if he was mad or just determined to 'be a man' and battle his way through the cold, wearing practically nothing.

Lacey stared up at him until she saw him take a breath and saw his teeth chatter slightly as he closed his mouth.

"You're cold," murmured Lacey.

"I'm perfectly fine," he retorted shortly.

Nonetheless, Lacey leaned into his embrace and rested her head against his shoulder. She knew it would only give him a bit more warmth, but it was all she could do. Yes, she wanted him to crash, but she didn't want him to get hypothermia. She worked to hard to revive him perfectly. She felt compelled to stick with him now no matter what happened and help him...

* * *

**Mad Hatter: Well! There is the second chapter! And now I'm off to go see Winter Soldier in theaters! I'm so excited! See you all later! Remember to comment, compliment, or give me constructive criticism! I love feedback! :)**


	3. Tomorrow You Won't Remember A Thing

**A/N from Mad Hatter: So yeah...Winter Soldier was better than The Avengers, IMO. Sebastian Stan's performance as Bucky amazed me. And a lot of the movie's story line tied in a lot with the plans I had for this fic! Surprise, surprise! I appreciated the better mental visuals though from the movie in preparation for writing this chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I love writing underlying creepiness. Blame it on my obsession with Tim Burton.**

**Musical Inspiration:**

**Winter Soldier by Henry Jackman! (This song in particular is the underlying theme for this whole fic. Note my love for the awesome screech that sounds every time Bucky lunges at someone. It's first heard in the soundtrack at 3:23 I believe. Check it out on youtube!**

* * *

Chapter 3

Tomorrow You Won't Remember A Thing

* * *

Time seemed to inch by on their walk to the town. But a half and hour later Lacey was standing behind the Wal-mart, pushing Bucky to stand in the shadows next to the dumpster.

He shifted from one bare foot to the other, trying to relieve the icy pain that emanated from the asphalt into his feet.

"Here," offered Lacey, taking off her lab coat and folded it on the ground, "Sit or stand on that. It'll be warmer."

Bucky said nothing, but stared at her openly.

"I'll go in and get you a shirt, shoes and a coat, then we'll go grab a bite to eat," said Lacey after a short hesitation.

"We're leaving after this. The soldiers will be here shortly," Bucky grumbled, squatting down on the coat, tightening his human arm over his chest for warmth.

Lacey sighed and looked at his now shivering body and said, "Whatever. I'll be back in about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, don't show yourself to anyone, just stay out of sight and don't cause any trouble."

Bucky didn't respond, just drew his knees in front of him and tucked his lower face into the crook of his arm.

_"He never says anything, but I can see his mind churning,"_ thought Lacey as she rolled her eyes and walked to the front of the store.

* * *

Bucky's whole body shuddered, his muscles trying to warm his skin. He barely notice the discomfort as his mind worked like a brewing storm. Why couldn't he remember anything? The longer he focused on the missing pieces within his brain, the farther his grip on his past slipped.

He ran a quaking hand over his face as he thought of the events that had transpired in just the past two hours.

He even doubted that his name was Bucky. They all called him that, but if they'd kept him alive for 70 years, he doubted that he was who he said he was. He had not even an inkling of who he was and what he had done with his life years ago. He didn't remember his family, friends or lover...if he ever had one. It felt horrible, not being able to remember his past. The caged memories in his mind were clawing at his insides, wishing for freedom.

And why was he even kept alive? He didn't stay in that site long enough to find out...he must remember to ask the young woman when she came back.

That young woman...she spoke a lot for someone who was technically his prisoner.

Bucky was about to ponder over how on earth he could get rid of the woman when he heard scuffling down the back lot to his left.

Bucky stood warily and leaned forward to peer past the dumpster and saw a man pulling another smaller man behind a store at the far end of the lot.

Bucky's enhanced vision could see that the man had a hand clamped over her mouth and he knelt him down to the ground. Bucky felt a sickness rise in his stomach when he realized what was happening.

Instantly his troubled mind cleared and his shivering ceased. He shot forward in the frigid night air and barreled at the scene taking place before him.

"Hey!" Bucky yelled at the guy.

The man looked up from his work of undoing his belt.

"Get lost, Skywalker!" the man yelled, forcing down the muffled screaming smaller man.

Bucky's eyes narrowed when he realized the victim was a boy about 10 years old. The man holding the boy looked at Bucky, eyes bloodshot.

"You get your hands off him or I swear to God I'll tear them off," Bucky growled in the most intimidating voice he could muster.

"I'd like to see you try, Bo-flex," snorted the man, turning away.

"I'm warning you one last time. Let him go and I'll go easy on you," snarled Bucky, clenching his bionic fist.

"And I'm warning you if you don't get the hell away from me, I'll catch you after I'm done with him and we'll have a little fun, because..." the rapist's eyes traveled suggestively down Bucky's exposed enlarged muscles and settled on Bucky's lower region, "Boy, you are a fine example of God's creation of man."

The man gave a maniacal cackle and Bucky had enough. He bristled angrily and rushed at the man, picking him up by the throat as he had the nurse earlier.

The pervert let the boy go and Bucky yelled at him, "Go on, get out of here!"

The crying boy ran off and Bucky looked back to the man, "You don't seem to understand that you are in some serious shit."

The pervert was bawling now and he blubbered, "You're not going to kill me, are you?"

"Killing you would be too kind. You're the lowest of the low and deserve the cruelest punishment!"

The man's eyes went wide with horror and Bucky reached up and grabbed a hold of the pervert's right bicep with his adamantium limb and yanked once with all his strength. The man screamed as he arm ripped right out of the socket, flesh tearing and ligaments popping as he pulled it free.

Bucky threw the arm to the side, smiling eerily at the man's shocked expression, "That's the last time you'll ever call an one-armed man names, I think."

Bucky threw the man on the ground and savagely kicked him in the ribs, hearing a satisfying series of cracking at the blow.

He then pulled his arm back, made a fist. To Bucky's surprise, his metal arm whirred and clicked for a moment, as if storing up power. He almost yelped when the arm thrust forward, supercharged by something in the cybernetic limb that delivered a downward blow at the pervert's head, completely crushing in the man's skull.

Bucky stood up, then frowned when he saw the dead, mutilated man at his feet. He lifted his metallic fist and looked at the fresh blood caked on the faux-knuckles.

"Bucky?" a hesitant voice came from behind him.

He froze as he slowly turned to look at the disappointed eyes of the woman.

* * *

Lacey loosely held the new grey t-shirt, black leather jacket, socks, and combat boots as she looked at the horrid sight before her. Bucky turned around with a strange look on his face, somewhere between shock and guilt.

"What did you do?" Lacey asked frantically.

"He was defiling a innocent...I...took care of it," he said with a shaky voice.

Lacey didn't say a thing, she just lowered her head and hummed an acknowledgement. Lacey raised her eyes again to see Bucky backing away from the dead man.

"Hey..." Lacey murmured, coming up to him and held out the clothes.

Bucky picked up the t-shirt and put it on, not uttering a thank you, but expression grateful. He took the shoes and jacket and started to put those on as Lacey said, "He got what he deserved. Don't worry about this."

"There's nothing..." Bucky whispered.

"Sorry, what?" asked Lacey, realizing this was the first time Bucky had spoken to her without being a short answer to a statement she'd uttered.

"My brain, there isn't anything there. I know basic life knowledge, but I remember nothing about my past. And it's strange...something told me it was wrong to kill this man, what happened a few minutes ago, but I craved the spilling of his blood and I don't have any idea why. I wanted to see him suffer."

Lacey watched him spew out his crazed words as he put the jacket on, and murmured, "He was trying to hurt an innocent person, you had the right to feel hate towards him-"

"These weren't normal feelings of disgust, this was blind thirst for blood. It...it makes no sense..." Bucky lifted his shaking hands to run through his long hair, pushing it out of his eyes.

Lacey stared at him carefully as his chest started heaving, hyperventilating. His eyes went wide with confusion and he stumbled to the side, leaning against the brick wall.

"Barnes, you've got to calm down. This isn't good for you!" Lacey exclaimed, rushing forward to touch him on the shoulder, but ended up catching him as his knees buckled.

"Barnes!" Lacey grunted as she bore his solid weight, but she couldn't stand very long underneath him.

They crumpled to the ground in a heap and Bucky's head lolled against her shoulder.

"You would have to crash behind a store. This is gonna be tough to explain to the cabbie, but we need to get out of here before someone comes investigating," grumbled Lacey as she pulled her iPhone out of her pocket.

"Wh-what's that?" Bucky slurred, stormy eyes lifting to look up at her in question.

"It's a phone," Lacey huffed, dialing with one thumb.

Bucky's eyes focused on the iPhone, "Son of a bitch."

"You may find the world a stranger place than you remember," murmured Lacey.

Lacey secretively called Dr. Schweitzer, lifting the phone to her ear

A few moments later, the doctor answered, "Dr. Turner? Where on earth are you, we've been looking for you and Subject 332! Are you all right?"

Lacey cleared her throat and replied "Yes, I would like you to pick me up behind Rennweg Wal-Mart. My friend has drunk himself stupid and I need to take him home."

Understanding her intentions perfectly, the doctor on the other line's voice went from concerned to serious quickly as he answered, "We'll be there in 30 minutes."

"Thanks," Lacey answered quickly and shut off her phone.

"They are on their way," whispered Lacey, looking down at Bucky, whose eyes were now shut.

Lacey hesitantly settled a hand against his bearded cheek, gently coaxing him to open his eyes again. He sluggishly looked up at her again and Lacey felt her chest tighten. The cold glare had faded from his eyes and had changed into grey swirl of summer storm. There wasn't a lot of feeling there because of his lack of memory, just curiosity.

"Did you hear me?" whispered Lacey.

An empty smile quirked the sides of his mouth, revealing white teeth and a chuckle that sounded more like a cough rumbled in his chest "...I can't remember... the l-last time I got drunk..."

"I hate to break it to you, but with the serum we put in you, one of the side-effects is that you can't get drunk anymore," Lacey replied, pushing a long dark lock of his out of his eyes and tucking it behind his ear.

"Fantastic... No point to go to bars anymore..." he sighed, letting his eyes close again.

"I'm...I'm pleased to hear you speak like a human being again," Lacey responded quietly, "Not a robot."

"I've been asleep for 70 years, I'm allowed a little dysfunction when I awaken," grumbled Bucky, sighing in fatigue.

"You're tired...you can sleep."

"It's strange that I'm sleepy, since I've been knocked out since World War II..." he mumbled, but nonetheless, the muscles in his face relaxed as sleep overtook him.

Lacey gazed down at the man, annoyed to find that she once again admired is features. His face was so serious, yet so handsome. She felt her face grow hot and she instantly turned away from him and awaited their ride.

* * *

An hour later, Lacey walked into the testing site, immediately joined by Doctor Schweitzer when she entered. He ordered the guards to take Bucky away, then turned to Lacey, "Are you all right, my dear?"

"Yes, sir, Bucky didn't harm me," answered Lacey as the doctor ushered her down the hall.

"I couldn't imagine a man harming a woman with a pretty face like yours," chuckled Dr. Schweitzer, opening the door that led to his office, "Would you mind relaying the details of Bucky's performance?"

Lacey blinked slowly, then silently went into the room. Not aware of the reason, she automatically headed for the thick, metal barber chair in front of his desk.

Dr. Schweitzer smiled and sat behind his desk, flourishing a hand towards her, "Relax, my dear."

Lacey nodded blankly, strangely compelled to settled her feet flat on the attached footrest and put her forearms against the armrests of the chair.

"Now, Doctor Turner, don't worry. Tomorrow you won't remember a thing," the doctor smiled smugly before pressing a button on his desk.

Lacey panicked when metal clamps ejected from the chair, clapping over her arms, legs and torso. She let out a cry as the doctor stood and strode to her side. He reached down behind the headrest and lifted two metal trappings, adorned with pale, blue lights. He gave Lacey a sickening smile, then slapped them against her head.

She barely had time to think before a searing pain ripped through her brain. She screamed in agony as the nauseating sensation overtook her mind. A light flash in front of her eyes and she remembered thinking one name before passing out.

_"Bucky."_


	4. Experiment

**A/N from Mad Hatter: Hello all! I want to just start by saying how much I appreciate all your encouragement for this story! You have no idea how happy that makes me! I hope you like this chapter. It's a little confusing, but just truck through until the end and it'll all come together, I promise! **

**So, I saw Winter Soldier again tonight and really absorbed as much information as I could on Bucky, and I have so many awesome ideas that I can't wait to plug into this story! Thanks for hanging in there with me, you guys! You're the best!**

**-Musical inspiration:**

**Frozen by Within Temptation**

**Do I Wanna Know by Arctic Monkeys**

**Blizzard by Two Steps From Hell**

Chapter 4

Experiment

* * *

"Dr. Turner?" a voice called from the entrance of a small, dimly-lit office.

Lacey Turner tore her eyes away from her task of signing a stack of papers, to see a Soviet officer.

She blinked wearily and pushed up her glasses a bit to rub her eyes.

"Subject 142 is prepped for your inspection. The serum was successful and he is ready for a specialist to attach the prosthetic," the officer relayed.

Lacey sat back in her chair, straightening out the kings in her spine before nodding in response, "I'll be ready in a second. What room?"

"Room 15, ma'am," the officer answered before disappearing into the hall.

Lacey sighed in exhaustion and rubbed her eyes again. She felt as if she'd been signing those papers for days without ceasing. She would enjoy stretching her legs on her walk to the test subject's room.

Lacey stood and lifted her arms above her head, happy to feel her wound-up muscles stretch out.

She then moved to the filing cabinet and opened the bottom drawer, flipping through until she came to the 'W' section. She pulled a file that read 'WINTER SOLDIER' on the tab and opened it, scanning the contents briefly.

The name of Subject 143 was unknown, as was his origin. The only detailed section of the file was the extensive list of his injuries and plan description for a prosthetic arm.

Lacey's eyes flicked to the Retrieval Date, reading 1943.

She blinked in confusion and twisted around to pluck up her iPhone that sat on her desk. She quickly dialed the director, Dr. Schweitzer, then held the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" a man with a German accent answered.

"Yes, Dr. Schweitzer, this is Dr. Turner," Lacey responded.

"Ah, yes. What can I do for you, my dear?"

"Pardon me, sir. But I was wondering if you had any more information on Subject 143, Codename: Winter Soldier? I was just informed that I am to begin installation of his cybernetic arm today," Lacey stated.

"I"m sorry, Dr. Turner, whatever is in your file is all we know," the German doctor returned quickly.

"Well, then, tell me this: Has he been in cryogenic sleep since 1943?"

"Yes, he hasn't been awakened in over 70 years. Just this past month we pulled him off ice and put him in a drug-induced coma. I can assure you he is very ready for his prosthetic and revival," Schweitzer told her.

"Mmhmm. It says here they located him in ice water at the base of a mountain. And that he was found in outfit designed for combat?

"Yes, hence the name 'Winter Soldier,'" Lacey could hear the director growing bored with her questioning.

"I'm sorry for the inquires, sir, this just seems like a menial amount of information on the man. We should try to learn more about him before we stick a bionic arm on him-"

The director's sharp voice cut off her own, "Dr. Turner, you are a superb physician with a phenomenal skill set. It's hard to come by doctors with the knowledge to install cybernetic prosthesis. But don't mistake your talent for authority. Your employment responsibilities only require you to do what I say, nothing more. Is that understood?"

"Apologies, but I felt it was my duty as a doctor to voice my concern," Lacey said coolly, even though she fumed on the inside.

"Concern noted. You need to relax. It doesn't matter who he was before now. All that matters is that with his bionic arm, he'll be the savior we've been hoping for. He'll be the weapon that'll bring peace to the world. Everything relies upon the success of this experiment. Please save your concerns for a different time and continue with the procedure, ASAP."

Lacey pulled the phone away from her ear as the director rudely hung up on her. She shook her head and set the phone on the table, then tucked the file under her arm and walked out the door to room 15.

The room wasn't far, only down a flight of stairs. She quickly came to Subject 143's room and showed her ID in order for the 3 guards to step out of the way and let her inside.

She set down the file on a table beside the door and quietly approached the man laying on the bed. She scowled, seeing that his right arm, ankles and neck were strapped in by thick metal clamps. At hip level, a Velcro belt wrapped around his stomach and around the underside of the table.

"What the hell?" Lacey murmured under her breath.

Lacey put her hands on her hips, glaring at the brutal restraints. With an eye roll, she looked away from problem to the Subject's face. Lacey studied him momentarily and slowly came to the conclusion that even with the month's worth of scruff on his face and a respirator tube shoved down his windpipe through his mouth, he was very handsome.

Lacey inched forward for a better look, leaning over so she could look directly at his face. His hair was cut in long, disheveled locks and his face was unblemished from years of no expression. He had a very serious face, reminding Lacey a bit of the famous internet meme 'Grumpy Cat.'

_"I wonder what color his eyes are..." _she thought to herself thinking they were probably brown_, "Though grey eyes would make him seriously good-looking," _

Lacey bit her lip and looked behind her to make sure no one was watching. Then she turned back to the patient and lifted the lid of his left eye up a bit. A smile pulled at her lips when she saw the dead-eye stare was grey-blue. The color of a storm.

Curiosity satisfied, Lacey stalked back to the file and quickly pulled the order form for the pieces to the Winter Soldier's prosthetic. She knocked on the door and the guard cautiously cracked open the door.

Lacey passed the paper through the crack and asked, "Would you mind picking up this order from the armory department?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'll return shortly," the guard replied, then locked her in the room with the patient.

Lacey returned to Winter Soldier's side and gazed down at him. Her mind wandered, thinking of how this man was in 1943. She wondered about who he might have been before wounded. She felt as if once he'd been a grave man. Yet... she also had the feeling that, once upon a time, he could have also been very kind and gentle if he wished.

Lacey pulled up a chair and sat next to his right side, pondering about the wounded Winter Soldier.

A faint remembrance of Dr. Schweitzer's words drifted into her mind, _"You need to relax. He'll be the weapon that'll bring peace to the world. Everything relies upon the success of this experiment."_

_Experiment?_

Lacey cringed at the thought of using such a word when talking about a human. She gazed at his blank face, then drifted down to his good hand. She notices light scarring on his knuckles, probably from common use in fist fights back in the day.

Lacey tentatively reached out and picked up his limp hand, gently squeezing her fingers around his palm. A wave of guilt swept over her as she rubbed her thumb in circles against his rough knuckles.

"No one should have to live like this..." she whispered, looking up at his unresponsive face again, "Least of all you. From the trauma, you probably don't even remember who you were. I can't even imagine not remembering my past. It must be like a blank hole-"

Lacey stopped and dropped Winter's hand as if it were on fire as the guard suddenly opened the door with the equipment and pieces needed for the arm.

"Ah, thank you so much," Lacey said, rising to take the box away from him.

"Do you need anything else, ma'am?" the guard inquired.

"Only time alone to concentrate," responded Lacey, setting the box next to the left of Winter's bed.

The guard bowed his head in confirmation, then left.

It only took Lacey about three hours to build the arm. She was fast and efficient in her skill and knew exactly how bionic arm needed installing. She began working on the adamantium plating and fused the covers over wires and gears with a small, hand-held welding torch.

As she worked, her mind danced around Dr. Schweitzer's words.

_Experiment._

Lacey scowled and thought, _"Why am I so uncomfortable with this?"_

Lacey put the finishing touches on the fingers and scooted her chair back to admire her job. The cybernetic arm was perfect, completely symmetrical to his opposing arm.

But unease was still holding Lacey by the throat. She snorted in irritation, putting the tools and spare parts back into the box. She set the box aside and stood to report to Dr. Schweitzer that she had finished and Winter Soldier was prepared for inspection.

* * *

Lacey trotted down the hall to the director's office, feeling just a bit better about herself. She had done her job. She'd done as commanded by her boss, so she had no reason to feel guilt.

Winter was a tool, nothing more. She had to keep reminded herself not to let emotions get in the way of her job.

Lacey rounded the corner and walked up to Dr. Schweitzer's office. She reached out to rap on the door, but noticed it was slightly ajar. She reached forward to push it open and almost announced her presence, when she heard a hushed voice come from inside.

"Yes, sir, we'll have the report on his revival tomorrow. I plan to have this be the last time with her. No...no, sir. If this is a failure, I plan to wipe her and return her to the cell block...Yes, sir, I have three more to try, but hopefully the third time will be the charm with Subject Turner...Because she seems to possess a connection with Subject Barnes that I think will be beneficial if I can prime it correctly. I altered a few variables this time that I think will help. ...Well, we aren't going to tell her or him who he was before the fall, which is what we've normally been starting out with upon his awakening. It only seemed to make his behavior erratic...Yes, Subject Turner knows only that he was a soldier found at a mountain base. She doesn't even know his name..."

Lacey stumbled backward, her heart racing as she absorbed the doctor's words.

_Subject Turner. Wipe. Variables_.

She finally realized why she feared the word 'experiment.'

She was_ part _of an experiment!

Lacey almost tripped as she ran back down the hallway to Winter Soldier's room. Before she came into the guard's view, she slowed herself and calmly walked to them, showing ID. They let her in easily and she waited until they'd locked the door behind her before she ran to the soldier's side.

What had Schweitzer called him again? Barnes?

Lacey reached into a drawer and pulled out a syringe with a drug to awaken him. She nearly dropped the needle when a name suddenly popped into her mind.

_Bucky._

_Bucky_ Barnes.

A flood of memories burst into her mind as if a dam exploded. Thoughts of a white padded cell, her arms tied with a zip-tie behind her back and a gag shoved against her tongue. A violent machine that delves into your mind like a thousand needles being driven into your brain. A snide doctor, telling her that she needed to relax.

_Tomorrow you won't remember a thing._

Lacey set her jaw, a new resolve washing over her as she jabbed the syringe into Bucky's IV.

"All right, Winter Soldier, we've been sleeping long enough. It's time to open our eyes," she growled, pushing the drug into his veins.


	5. A Different Approach

**A/N: Well, I am still in shock of how kind the readers have been to me! I am just too grateful for words. I'm excited to see all these Bucky fans come out of the woodwork and review my story! It really means the world to me! **

**So. My gosh, I have seen Winter Soldier three times since it came out in theaters on the 4th and I am so in love with Bucky, it's stupid. Everyone knows the scene after Bucky first recognizes Steve and he's talking to Pierce about it? Aside from Sebastian Stan's amazing acting, the thing that stood out to me is when he says 'But I knew him...' to Pierce and I about died of fangirl-itis. The face he makes is just...wow, freakin' adorable! You know what I'm talking about, right? You just wanna lunge right through the screen and give him a hug!**

**Anyway, in saying that, I just want to tell you Bucky fangirls that I'm right in the same boat with you of wanting Lacey and Buck just to have a little 'fun' together, but this is a serious story and I can't do that (yet) unfortunately.**

**-Musical Inspiration: **

**Birth of a Hero by Two Steps from Hell**

**The Causeway by Henry Jackman from CW:The Winter Soldier OST**

**Renegade by Manafest **

_**Disclaimer: I've been forgetting to do this. I'm so bad :/ Marvel owns EVERYTHING except my OCs in this chapter and all the ones before. All characters are fictitious, any likeness for real persons is purely coincidental! :)**_

* * *

Chapter 5

A Different Approach

"It's time to open our eyes..."

_What?_

"Bucky...Bucky, please get up!"

_Get up? Where am I? What-what's going on?_

A horrible pain shot through the patient's throat, as if someone were rubbing sandpaper along the inside of his gullet.

He gagged in desperation, but the strange discomfort soon ceased, replaced by cool air naturally filling his lungs.

Three bursts of loud metallic clanging resounded into the patient's sensitive eardrums, causing him to jump slightly and his eyes to crack open.

The patient squinted in the searing light, sharply sucking the breath between his teeth in pain, squeezing his eyes shut again.

"Bucky, we don't have a lot of time! Please!"

The patient felt someone fiddling with something encircling his right arm.

The patient's eyes snapped open, finding the world blurry. He slowly looked down to see a young woman with dark hair tied back in a bun using a piece of thick scrap metal to hit a restraint around his right wrist.

The man's senses started to awaken like light switches being flipped on. His head buzzed as the musty smell of a wet, cold room filled his nostrils. His skin nettled, the cold air biting at his bar upper body. The colors around him, though the room was dull, never seemed more bright. The bitter plastic taste in his mouth caused him to lick his dry lips. The scraping sound of the woman's work on his arm stabbed at his eardrums.

With a sharp jerk, the girl finally freed his arm from the metal circlet then left his side.

His eyes sluggishly followed her movements as she frantically dashed to a closet, pulling a couple of black fabric items from the shelf.

The man opened his mouth and attempted to speak. His voice betrayed his intention could only manage to gasp, "W-who...are...y-you?"

The girl looked at him sharply, then charged to a drawer and began to paw through it as she replied quickly, "Listen to me carefully. You are Sergeant James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes. You've been in cryogenic sleep since 1943, almost 70 years ago. The Soviets captured you after an accident you had during World War II. You had severe injuries, which is the reason you can't remember a lot. You have amnesia and the Soviets took advantage of that to experiment on you. You have been given a serum that enhanced your fighting abilities exponentially. The Soviets want to use you as a weapon, a killing machine, to assassinate anyone they wish. Which is why we need to get out of here now before they find out that you're awake!

She started stuffing medical items into a duffel bag she'd retrieved from the closet as the man turned his head towards the ceiling. All the information she threw at him ran through his mind. He could only focus on one thing though...his name.

_"My name is Bucky?" _

It sounded so strange to him.

He looked back at the woman and voice still faltering as he inquired, "W-who are y-you? H-how do y-you know this?"

"I'm Lacey Turner, your doctor. I overheard my supervisor speaking to someone over the phone about wiping mine and your memories_ again_. He's trying to raise you to be the best assassin possible and he's exploiting the knowledge I have to get you there," responded the woman, tossing a standard black t-shirt into his lap.

"W-what knowledge do you possess?" Bucky inquired, reaching with his left arm to pick up the shirt of his stomach before he stopped short when his arm came into view.

He stared at the thing that should have been his flesh left arm.

"I know how to build those..." Lacey murmured quietly, noticing him gaping at the cybernetic arm.

"What the hell?" he gasped, sitting up and holding his hands out before him, comparing the human right to the robotic left.

"You lost your arm in the accident. I built you a prosthetic," Lacey explained, "It's made with the most highly intelligent technology known to man. Everything about it is strong. It's has adamantium plating, and the inner workings are directly in sync with your brain waves so it acts, and aside from the color, looks just like a real arm. The only difference is that if you learn to use it correctly, you can be almost invincible."

Bucky continued to stare at the loose adamantium ribbing on the forearm. He clenched his fist, inhaling sharply when, with a series of clicking, the ribbing all the way up the arm popped together tightly as if to prepare itself for a punch.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Lacey asked, a hint of pride in her voice.

Bucky didn't answer as the sickness at the loss of a limb faded away from the pit of his stomach. This thing, as unsightly as it was, could be extremely useful. Bucky felt a surge of inner power course through his veins and he flexed the muscles in his arms, looking in awe at the new weapon attached to his left shoulder.

An alarm suddenly blared over the loud speakers outside and Bucky and Lacey looked up in unison. Bucky's eyes fell to a chair Lacey must have propped under the door in attempt to keep any unwanted visitors out. They were safe for the time being.

"Dammit! I suspected the director had some way to keep an eye on your vitals outside of this room. We need to get out of here," Lacey cursed and tore off her lab coat and slung the duffel bag over her shoulder.

Bucky stood, ignoring the quaking in his legs from the time spent in a coma and pulled the black shirt over his toned midriff.

Lacey stepped up to him, touching his flesh arm and looking up at him seriously, "Look, I know you don't know how to use that arm yet, but the only way we're getting out of here is if you make it happen. Are you with me on this?"

Bucky's arm shuddered and clicked as he clenched his bionic fist and asked, "Is there anyone guarding the door?"

A look of relief spilled over Lacey's features for a moment before she nodded determinedly, "Yes, there were three on the outside."

"And which way is out?" Bucky inquired, moving his new arm about, trying to get a feel for its abilities.

"To the left, up one flight of stairs, then to the right directly out a metal double door. After that there will most likely be soldiers outside and they will not hesitate to take you down. I don't think they'll kill you, but they will me and I have a feeling I'm your last shot of getting out of this place," Lacey responded rapidly.

"Then we are going to have to make this time count," Bucky said.

To his surprise, his mind worked overtime, seeming to know exactly how they could get past the guards and to the outside world. The serum must have advanced his brain function along with his body.

"The guards outside don't know yet why the alarms are going off. While they're distracted by all the noise, now is the time to strike," Bucky said as he walked carefully to the door, placing his ear against the metal and heard nervous conversing between the men on the other side.

Bucky pulled away and whispered, "We should have time to take out the guards and get their weapons. And if possible get their bullet proof vests too."

Lacey complied and Bucky ordered, "Stay back until I take them down."

Lacey nodded and stood away as Bucky quietly pulled away the chair and readied himself to pop open the door.

He grasped the handle and turned it as silently as he could, pulling the door open with his bionic arm poised to strike. The three guards were standing with their backs to the door, not even noticing the super soldier behind them. With a deep breath, Bucky arched his back to prep his fist and threw a punch towards the left guard's nape.

As his fist sailed through the air, Bucky cried out in shock as a sudden force filled the arm and rocketed his knuckles towards the man at five times the speed that he'd intended with an mechanical whooshing sound. With a sickening crack, the guard's neck broke and he crumpled to the floor.

The force of the super-throttled cybernetic arm sent a tearing pain through the muscles covering his left shoulder blade. He cringed, but only had a second to think about his arm, before the other two guards spun around and aimed their guns at him.

With a roar, Bucky grabbed one of the guns with his bionic hand and crushed the weapon between his fingers, simultaneously delivering a blunt kick to the other guard's sternum.

The guard collapsed and the weaponless guard fumbled in his pockets for something to protect himself. Bucky made a fist and swung his arm at him, catching the guard in the jaw, sending him crashing into the opposing wall.

Bucky stepped back and looked at his work in awe. His new strength was brutal and frightening.

"Come on, we got to act fast if we want to live through this," a voice said from behind him.

Bucky turned to see Lacey already crouched in front of the guard with a broken neck, taking his machine gun, jacket and bullet-proof vest.

Bucky moved to the other victims and did likewise, removing the same items from the man he'd kicked in the chest.

"That guy looks like he's about your size. Take his boots too, it's snowing outside," Lacey told him, throwing on the vest over her thin t-shirt.

Bucky nodded and quickly undid the straps of the man's black combat boots.

Two minutes later, they were running down the hall and up the stairs, determined to find their freedom from the Soviets.

* * *

**A/N: Fear not, readers! I realize this chapter was short and another cliffhanger, but today is Sunday! That means I am focusing the rest of my day on writing more. I'm not making any promises, but I'm hoping to get not one, but _two_ more chapter in before the day is through! Hang in there with me, guys, you all are fantastic! I love ya!**

**~Mad Hatter**


	6. Out if the Fire, Into the Frying Pan

**A/N: Hey everyone! Second chapter in a day, I am ON FIRE! Sorry, little Sherlock reference there XD Thank you again and again and again for all the reviews! Just a little shout-out to some particular who I've gotten to know through PMs that have really been encouraging: disturbingbehavior, Skittles Flavord Bucky, fairyqueen96 and Bitchy Barnes! You guys are great, thank you so much for the messages!**

**-Musical Inspiration:**

_**Beginning part of the chapter:**_

**Iron by Within Temptation**

**Heart of Courage by Two Steps from Hell (yes, I get a lot of inspiration from them!)**

_**Latter part of the chapter:**_

**Dust to Dust by The Civil Wars**

**Be the Song by Foy Vance**

**100 Suns by 30 Seconds to Mars**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OCs! **_

Chapter 6

Out of the Fire, Into the Frying Pan

* * *

Lacey had no idea how to use a gun, especially a machine gun. She never expected that machine guns were so heavy! Apparently, Bucky noticed her fumbling awkwardly with the gun.

"Trade me," Bucky commanded as they ran up the stairs, handing over the light gun that he'd pulled off one of the guards.

"Why?" panted Lacey, but still obeyed as they switched.

"That's an assault rifle, it'll be easier for an untrained person to use," responded Bucky, checking the bullet feed on the machine gun and switching off the safety.

Lacey nodded and hiked the butt of the gun on her shoulder as they ran and held it clumsily. Why did this feel so weird, she held it just how she'd seen in the movies.

Bucky looked up from his gun and exclaimed, "No! It's a rifle, not a bazooka! Hold it like this."

Bucky demonstrated with his own gun and they slowed down as they got to metal doors leading outside.

"Sorry, I'm a doctor not a soldier," retorted Lacey, looking up at Bucky, who seemed to be mentally working out their next move.

"Last time you escaped they covered all the exits from the outside," murmured Lacey, looking behind her to make sure no one followed.

"I heard them, they're there," Bucky responded, "There are also foot soldiers coming up the stairway behind us."

Lacey inhaled sharply and Bucky continued, "We go out back-to-back, you cover the stair soldiers, I'll cover outside."

Lacey felt worry grip her heart. She knew it would be so easy for Bucky to just run outside without her. He could cover himself easily knowing that the soldiers would not take measures as far as shooting him fatally. He was safe, but she was the one who was expendable. There were other cybernetic specialists somewhere in the bowels of the Soviet site, just waiting to have their memories wiped and work on the Winter Soldier.

"Maybe you should go alone, you'll have a better chance of making it out of here without me," Lacey murmured, training the barrel of the gun on the stairwell.

Bucky tossed a look over his shoulder as he placed a hand against the door handle, "Don't give me any of that heroics shit. I may not have any of my memories, but that doesn't mean my morals are gone. I'm not ditching you after you risked your life to get me out of here."

Lacey smiled faintly, then responded, "Let's do this then."

"On my count. One, two, three!" Bucky threw the door open and lifted his machine gun to instantly start firing at the soldiers who rushed at the door.

In fear, Lacey scurried behind him, twisting around to fire at the soldiers who weren't even in her sight yet. She almost tripped in the snow, but braced reached out and caught a handful of Bucky's jacket and held on for dear life. She fired at anything that moved behind them, as Bucky did the same for the front.

Seemingly hundreds of soldiers shot at them as Bucky pulled Lacey to duck behind a vacated jeep. They crouched down behind it and Bucky reached into the pocket of the guard's jacket he wore and pulled out a golf-ball sized metal sphere.

"What the hell is that?" asked Lacey, clutching the gun to her chest.

Bucky scowled at it for a moment, then pressed a button on its side. The little object began beeping and Bucky grinned, "It's our way out."

Bucky held the sphere with his metal arm and pitched it with so much force that it completely embedded itself in side of truck near the enemy soldiers.

"How was that our-" Lacey yelped when explosion rocked the earth and debris began fall from the sky.

Screams of injured soldiers filled the air. Bucky grabbed Lacey's palm with his flesh hand a dashed madly towards the gate in the fence surrounding the site. He plucked up a metal pipe that had fallen in the snow from the explosion and gave the lock on the gate a hard whack with it, breaking the chain easily.

Bucky pushed Lacey through he gate, then spun around and bent the steel pipe effortlessly around the gate and the fence, sealing the soldiers inside.

"Let's g-" Lacey said, but stopped short when a soldier came around the outside of the fence and fired at them.

She ducked down and fortunately remained unharmed. But to her horror, she heard Bucky cry out in pain. Lacey;s eyes snapped up to see Bucky looking down at his chest, bloody holes indented in his shoulder and right arm.

"Bucky!" exclaimed Lacey, picking up her assault rifle and shooting at the offending soldier.

To Lacey's surprise, the soldier yelled, clutched his chest and fell to the ground. She looked at him for a moment, surprised she'd actually hit her target, then turned to Bucky. He looked at her, his cool, grey eyes distant with pain.

"No, no, no! Bucky!" Lacey scrambled to his side as he gripped his shoulder wound and stumbled a bit.

"Don't fall yet, Bucky, we need to get somewhere safe!" Lacey pleaded, putting his metal arm around her shoulder, giving him a bit of support.

Before they moved on, though Bucky stopped and with a great deal of effort, picked up the machine gun he'd dropped.

"We're gonna need this," he gasped, straightening and leaning into her again, "There...probably isn't a place to hide in...this damn blizzard."

Lacey bit her lip, she remembered a place...it popped out of her repressed memories and she knew it was somewhere they'd be safe.

* * *

The heavy snowfall thankfully kept their tracks well hidden as they trudged through the snow. Bucky leaned more heavily on Lacey's shoulder the longer they walked. He hated to burden her like, but his wounds were more agonizing than he cared to admit.

"Where is place?" he grumbled after an hour and a half of walking, pressing his hand against his arm wound.

"I can only vaguely remember this place. It's a deep-set cave that I think isn't too far from here...it's just hard to see with all this snow..."

"Is that it?" Bucky inquired, weakly pointing to a dark blur that looked out-of-place in the thick forest.

Lacey looked in the direction he pointed and nodded furiously, "That's it!"

The veered to their left and stumbled to the cave tucked back in a cliff. Lacey pulled a rectangular object out of her pocket and switched button, a light emanating from a corner of the object.

"What the hell is that?" he inquired, staring at it incredulously.

A smirk played on Lacey's lips, "A phone...and a flashlight."

"Son of a bitch," exclaimed Bucky softly.

"Deja vu," chuckled Lacey as she shined the light in the cave, "Do you hear anything in there?"

Bucky listened and looked attentively, but the cave seemed relatively safe. He shook his head and nudged her a bit with his metal thumb to move into the cave.

They walked as far back as they could in the cave without loosing sight of the mouth. Lacey ushered Bucky to a smooth rock for him to rest on, gently easing the machine gun strap off his shoulder. He groaned as the gunshot wounds screamed for attention. He leaned against the wall in exhaustion and slid to the ground.

"I'm glad I brought this stuff," Lacey said, taking the duffel bag off her shoulder and pulled out a blanket first, then set out a few medical necessities.

Bucky huddled into himself when a gust of frigid wind blew in the mouth of the cave. Lacey instantly unfolded the hospital blanket and gently draped it over his lap for warmth.

"Thanks..." he murmured, looking up at Lacey who didn't make eye contact with him.

"Let me take a look at those wounds," Lacey said quietly, pulling at his jacket.

Bucky cringed as Lacey helped him off with his jacket and shirt. She sat cross-legged next to him, then pulled a dagger from her jacket pocket and cut off a piece of the blanket to hold against the shoulder wound.

"You're lucky, the bullet passed through. We don't have to go digging around in your arm with a scalpel," Lacey murmured, putting pressure on the oozing hole.

Bucky winced and glanced carefully over at the woman sitting next to him. He realized he'd never really gotten the chance to look at her. He knew her as the girl with the hair in a tight auburn bun and glasses, nothing more. So as she worked on his wounds in the phone's dim light, he studied her.

Her features were soft and gentle, nose petite and her full lips covered a line of white, straight teeth. She wore glasses, but Bucky wished that she didn't. It hid a pair of large, emerald-green eyes that were so curious and passionate. Her auburn hair looked like it was wavy, but who could tell? She'd worn it up since he first had seen her.

Bucky bit his lip in concentration and he noticed that she had a light dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

"You're making me really uncomfortable, Barnes," the woman said shortly.

Bucky could see her cheeks burning even in the dim light, so he turned his face away.

Lacey didn't say a word. Instead she picked up gauze and began wrapping up his wounds.

"Can I ask you something?" Bucky inquired, staring at the wall across from him.

"Yes," she said softly.

Bucky tried to ignore her soft breath tickling his bare neck as she kept pressure on his shoulder.

"When you remembered that you were having your memory wiped and knew you had to run...why did you take me with you?" Bucky asked, turning back to her as she tied down the bandage.

"To keep myself from getting shot. It worked, didn't it?" chuckled Lacey bitterly.

Bucky gave her an exasperated look, so she held her hands up in defense, "All right! I guess...I guess I knew you were in the same situation as I was...and I didn't want you to end up becoming just a mindless machine. I've met you before, remember, and I think you were a good man once."

Bucky blinked at her. He didn't even have an inkling of who he was before awakening just a couple of hours ago.

Lacey stood to put away the medical items and announced, "You go ahead and sleep. I'll keep watch."

"All due respect, Dr. Turner, I have slept for far too long. I would like to stay up," Bucky answered, smiling a bit.

"As you wish, Sergeant," returned Lacey, nervously fiddling with her jacket sleeve, "But if it's not too weird, I'm going to stay next to you to sleep...for warmth. That's not weird, is it?"

"'Course not," Bucky answered quickly.

Lacey nodded awkwardly and settled against the wall next to his cybernetic arm. She tilted her head back and shut her eyes.

Bucky settled his own head against the stone wall and gazed out the mouth of the cave into the swirling snowfall. An empty pang of longing for remembrance of his past hit him like a ton of bricks. He could remember odd voices, strange things, subjects he thought were unimportant. Why couldn't he remember who he was?

This man, this Dr. Schweitzer needed to be ashamed of running such a site. Stealing memories was the cruelest punishment available, and he did it to Bucky, Lacey and probably many others. Thinking about Dr. Schweitzer doing something to a being as kind as Lacey made Bucky want to crush the man's skull inwards!

Bucky clenched his fist and the ribbing on his arm tightened, ready for a battle. True, they'd gotten away from the site, but Bucky had a feeling the war with this man had just begun. He grit his teeth, tightening his jaw until the muscles ached. He was about to get up and pace around when he felt something soft touch his cybernetic arm.

Bucky looked down to see Lacey's head settled against his shoulder, her face slack with deep sleep. Bucky gaped at her for a moment and noticed a look strand of her severe bun had come loose and dangled over her forehead. He gave a hesitant crooked smirk, but resisted the urge to push it away. It seemed far too intimate a gesture for a woman he'd only known for two hours...Or at least he only remembered knowing her for two hours.

Bucky's chest heaved as he sighed. He settled for quietly pulling the blanket on his lap over so that they were both tucked within its warmth.

This woman deserved protecting. He wasn't sure if he was a good man, but she was a good woman. And he knew staying with her and protecting her was the right thing to do. For now, anyway.


	7. On The Run

**A/N: DON'T HATE ME FOR THIS CHAPTER! I found this one extremely boring to write and I hope it doesn't bore you guys to death! They had to get away by traveling and traveling is so dull! I filled it will fluff, but it won't always be this way, I swear! I promise it'll get better after this chapter, just bear with me!**

**Musical Inspiration:**

**Map of the Problematique by Muse**

**Sweater Weather by The Neighborhood**

**King and Lionheart by Of Monsters and Men**

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs.**_

Chapter 7

On The Run

* * *

Lacey awoke to an uncomfortable pain around her left bicep. She moaned a bit as she came back to consciousness and found herself staring down a leg to a black combat boot.

What the hell?

Lacey tried to sit up, but grimaced when the pain increased on her arm. She looked down in confusion and saw a metal hand clenched tightly around her bicep. Lacey sat up and found herself almost nose-to-nose with sleeping Bucky.

_"His arm must have locked up in his sleep...I'll have to fix that once we get to a more stable hiding place,"_ she thought as looked at his gentle, sleeping face close-up.

"Bucky," Lacey whispered, trying not to admire the angular curve of his scruffy cheek.

"Wha..." Bucky opened his clear, steel-grey eyes and looked her dead in the eye.

Lacey's throat suddenly felt dry and she forgot for a moment why she awoke him.

"Um, your hand...do you think it would mind letting me have my arm back?" Lacey chuckled, her joke coming out a lot lamer than she'd intended.

Bucky's brow furrowed, then he looked down at the bionic grip around her bicep.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, letting go quickly, "Are you all right?"

Lacey rubbed her sore arm and put her hand against his chest to help herself sit up without thinking. She quickly pulled her hand back, feeling flustered as she responded, "Uh, yeah, I am. But we gotta fix that the next chance we get."

"Which will be...?" Bucky made a face at Lacey as she stood and stretched.

Lacey thought for a moment, then her face lit up as a mental picture burst into her mind,

"Oh! I just remembered something! Someone who could help us!" she exclaimed, reaching down and quickly picking up their blanket and stuffed it into the bag.

"Who?" Bucky inquired, grimacing as he stood up, his muscles still burning from his wounds.

"His name..." Lacey squeezed her eyes shut, remembering a man who lived in the States in Seattle.

For some reason, Lacey remembering he was someone who they could trust.

"His name is Jack Jefferson and we are going to need a plane to get to him," Lacey replied, throwing the duffel bag over her shoulder.

"How are we going to get on a plane if we don't have passports?" Bucky asked, putting his shirt and jacket back on.

Lacey smirked, "You find the right pilot."

* * *

Hours later, they found themselves on a personal jet of a sketchy pilot that Lacey had found in the closest town. She'd told Bucky that they'd just visited the town the night before, but of course he didn't remember.

Bucky didn't like planes, he sat completely still in the broken-down mini-jet, his seat belt on as tight as he could get it without breaking his pelvis. His cybernetic hand grasped the armrest so hard that the stuffing popped out of the seams.

He'd been on the plane for far too long. They landed for a bit to gas up, letting Lacey and Bucky stretch their legs. But to his dismay, they had to get right back in the plane and continue on.

Scratch not liking planes. He _hated_ planes.

Lacey walked in from speaking to the pilot and looked at Bucky and chuckled. She sat down next to him, saying, "Hang in there."

"I'm going to die on this plane after all I've lived through," Bucky grumbled dramatically.

"You're not going to die on this plane," Lacey returned matter-of-factly.

The plane lurched when it hit some turbulence. Bucky slammed his eyes shut and gripped his seat even harder.

"Hey..." Lacey said gently, pressing her fingers against his sleeve, "It's okay, we aren't going to crash."

Bucky licked his lips nervously, keeping his eyes squeezed shut.

"Why don't you talk to me, that'll keep your mind off things?" suggested Lacey.

Bucky seriously doubted that talking would help, but nonetheless he opened his mouth, "How the hell did you pay this guy if you weren't really getting paid for your job."

"Dr. Schweitzer went too far with making things seem realistic. He knows I always keep lots of cash on my person so he continued to make me think everything was normal by sticking wads of cash in my pockets."

"Your bad habit came in handy in this case. But really, you stand a big chance of getting robbed, you know that?" Bucky scolded her.

"Thanks, mom. I'll keep that in mind," snorted Lacey, pinching his arm lightly before letting go.

Bucky wished she'd settle her warm fingers against his arm again, a simple touch was unbelievably comforting this situation.

He almost tried to start the conversation again, but when he eyes flicked over to look at Lacey, there was a distant glaze in her emerald eyes.

"What is it?" Bucky asked.

"Nothing...it's just that made me think...I can't remember what happened before my imprisonment in Switzerland. I have no memory of my parents..." she returned quietly.

Bucky smirked bitterly, "I don't either, so you're not alone."

"I guess that all doesn't matter now. Even if I did have parents once, they're probably dead or have forgotten me," Lacey responded, trying to look as if she didn't care.

The plane shuddered again and Bucky whined in the back of his throat, putting his head against the headrest and closing his eyes once again.

"Oh, hey, that reminds me. I found these sniper gloves in my jacket and thought you should use them to hide your cybernetic hand," Lacey said suddenly.

Bucky glanced over and saw her holding a pair of leather gloves. They were very good-looking, professional gunman gloves, so he took them gratefully.

"Thanks..." Bucky murmured and slipped the gloves over his metal and flesh hands.

"We'll be at the landing strip near Salem in just about 2 hours, miss," the co-pilot called from the cockpit.

"Salem? I thought we were going to Seattle?"

"We can't land at a commercial airstrip, so the pilot is landing at a strip owned by a relative of his in Salem, Oregon. We'll have to drive the rest of the distance," Lacey explained, settling comfortably back in the work seat.

"How are we going to get a car? You've spent all your money on this plane trip," Bucky pointed out.

Lacey gave Bucky a devilish grin, "We'll borrow a car."

Bucky looked at her skeptically, "You know how to steal a car?"

"_Borrow_, Barnes. _Borrow_ a car. Now please, let me get some rest. You should sleep too and work on healing that arm of yours. We still have a long way to go," Lacey murmured, closing her green eyes.

The plane vibrated violently again and Bucky grimaced, "That's easy for you to say."

Lacey ignored him and Bucky looked out the window at the dark world below. He let his tense body ease as his mind wandered.

He wondered how the United States was now? He'd been shocked to find out new things about the world today. Lacey informed him earlier that not only were there now fifty states in America, but picture shows could now be viewed in Technicolor on a small television set right in people's living rooms! Everything Lacey told him sounded so flashy, he was almost ecstatic to see the US now.

Bucky let his head lean against the headrest as he gazed out the window, letting himself drift off into a light sleep.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Bucky exclaimed loudly, standing in line at a McDonald's in Salem with Lacey.

Lacey turned around sharply to see the tall man gaping at two men in the next line over kissing passionately.

"Bucky!" hissed Lacey, grabbing his arm and tearing his eyes away from the gay couple.

"Did you see that?! They were kissing each other! On the goddamned mouth!" Bucky whispered back, looking over at the couple with a terrified expression.

"I think we need to discuss a few things..." Lacey said nervously, cheeks burning as the couple looked over at Bucky angrily.

"Is...is that a thing now?"

"Yes, that's a thing now, so please quit pointing and staring!" Lacey returned, swatting his stomach with the back of her hand.

Bucky looked appalled, but Lacey knew she couldn't really blame him. Homosexuality wasn't as common back in the 1940's, so he was bound to be a little shocked.

Lacey sighed and changed the subject, "What do you want to eat? I've got like 10 dollars left, so pick a couple of things off the dollar menu so we can stretch this money as far as possible."

Bucky stared at the menu, then looked at Lacey strangely again, "It's a dollar for a hamburger? That's rather high...maybe we should go someplace cheaper?"

Lacey almost laughed out loud at his confusion. Again, back in his day, you could get a lot more for a lot less.

"Sir, it doesn't get any cheaper than Mickey D's. It's the Wal-Mart of the food industry," Lacey snorted.

Bucky opened his mouth again to reply, but Lacey cut him off, "And no, Wal-Mart is not a place where you buy walls."

* * *

Bucky stared disdainfully down at the cheeseburger Lacey had purchased for him from a place called Wendy's as they neared Seattle. It was, unfortunately, the second time on their travels that he'd had to consume a meal from a 'fast-food' restaurant. It was the most disgusting food he'd ever had the misfortune of eating.

Bucky glared at the sandwich as if it were going to turn into the devil himself, then glanced at Lacey, who tore into her burger while she drove through the rain.

"Finally, there's the sign for Seattle!" she said through a mouthful of food, making Bucky's stomach feel even more queasy.

Bucky quietly stuck his burger back in the bag, settling for drinking the Coca-Cola Lacey had purchased for him. At least some things didn't change. The world still had soda pop.

"Do you know where in Seattle this friend of yours lives?" Bucky asked, chewing at the end of the straw protruding from the top of his cup.

"Vaguely. I know the area, but I can't really give you the name of the place. It's rather strange..." Lacey replied, "Pull that map out and tell me what exit I should take ahead."

Bucky did as ordered, pulling out the map from the glove compartment in the old Toyota Camry they'd 'borrowed' from the McDonald's parking lot.

After thirty minutes of entering the city line and driving around clueless, Lacey finally saw something that caught her attention.

"I can't see the road sign because of the rain. What does it say?" she exclaimed, leaning forward to look out the front window.

Bucky easily answered, "Schmidt Avenue."

"I remember! The house is at the end of this road!" Lacey said joyfully, turning on the road which wasn't even paved.

Their car creaked as it tried to pull through muddy drive, but it was slow going. Ten minutes later, they came to the end of the line for the odd avenue and saw a strange two-story house.

"He lives right there. I know he'll be able to help us," Lacey told Bucky confidently, pulling up and putting the Camry in park.

Bucky wasn't as sure, though.

"Maybe I should go check it out first and make sure it's safe..." he murmured, watching as Lacey turned the car off.

"Don't be ridiculous. This man is a friend, I know it. I'm not sure how I know, but I know," she snorted, opening the car door.

Bucky opened his own door and got out after her, cringing at the cold rain that instantly pummeled him. He drew his arms around himself, following Lacey up on the house's front porch.

Lacey knocked on the door without hesitation and tilted her head towards the super soldier and grinned proudly at him. Bucky couldn't help but smirk at her expression, she must have felt so clever and free. After all, she figured out she was stuck in an infinite loop at the site in Switzerland, then got them all the way over to Seattle, Washington in wits alone.

Bucky tore his eyes away from the girl in front of him when a man about fifty abruptly opened the door and stared out the screen. He took in Bucky's strong and towering appearance and a flash of fear mirrored in the man's eyes, but then his gaze flicked to Lacey.

"L-Lacey? Is that you?" he gasped after a moment, throwing the screen door open.

Lacey looked elated and confused at the same time. She was familiar with the man's face, but Bucky could tell she didn't know exactly who he was.

Apparently the man noticed her confusion as well, because he excitedly reminded her, "Lacey, it's me. Jack! Your father!"


	8. Blackout

**A/N: Damn, almost 9,000 people have read this story! I'm shocked! Thanks for all the reviews! I did want to clarify to the readers that I'm changing a few things up for the sake of the story so it won't completely line up with the film. I know, I have some grammar mistakes as well. I apologize! Thanks for everyone else being so kind to me even through the flaws of the story! I really appreciate your support!**

**And I'm so sorry for pretty much breaking my 'update every day' streak. Believe me, I really wanted to write all day, but I had a bunch of orientation videos to watch for my job and it took me almost 3 hours after I got home from work. Life sucks. **

**Shout out to the most awesomest reviewers ever: Bucky Flavord Skittles, FalconFate and DisturbingBehavior! You guys keep me going with all your support!**

**Musical Inspiration:**

**-Main Titles by Danny Elfman (Frankenweenie OST)**

**-Sadness and Sorrow by Taylor Davis**

**-Page 47 by Trevor Rabin (National Treasure 2 OST)**

* * *

Chapter 8

Blackout

Lacey's mind went blank as Jack Jefferson attacked her in a hug. She looked up at Bucky in bewilderment, but he was watching the scene developing before him in shock.

"D-Dad?" Lacey stammered, pulling back a bit to look at his face.

Indeed, he had the same emerald-green eyes and similar features. It wasn't a stretch to believe they were related.

"How did you get away?!" he exclaimed, reaching up to gently stroke Lacey's frizzy hair that still hung in a loose bun.

"From Switzerland?" Bucky interjected, stepping forward.

"Well, yes. But how did you get away from Dr. Schweitzer?" Jack inquired, then narrowed his eyes at Bucky, "And who are you?"

"His name is Bucky Barnes. He helped me escape," answered Lacey.

Jack paused for a moment and looked between his daughter and the frighteningly dark and tall man standing beside her.

"Come inside out of the rain...you two look like you've been through hell. You can get cleaned up while I make some food for us, then we'll talk," Jack suggested kindly, opening the door for them.

Lacey walked a bit eagerly inside, followed by Bucky and Jack.

"Lacey, you can use the master bedroom bathroom to clean up. It's upstairs, second door on the left. Barnes, you can use the bathroom upstairs three doors to the right. I'll be right in the kitchen if you need anything," Jack said, giving his daughter a long look, reached forward to gently squeeze her hand before walking away.

As soon as he disappeared, Bucky spun around to ask Lacey, "He's your father?"

"I-I guess? I mean, he looks just like me, so it seems plausible..." muttered Lacey, eyes still wide, then added with a scoff, "And he did offer a place to shower, so I'm going to choose to believe him for the time being. I feel like I've got an inch of dirt all over my body."

Bucky nodded in agreement and they walked up the stairs together to find their assigned bathrooms.

Lacey stepped into the master bedroom, not surprised by its disheveled state. It looked like a man-cave. There was a large king-sized bed in the middle of the room with clothes and crumpled blankets strewn about the surface. An enormous plasma TV hung on the wall across from the bed, which made Lacey fairly certain her father was well-off. Seeing the bathroom confirmed her notion.

The huge jet-tub and shower stall were on opposite sides of the room. It looked more like a resort bathroom, not a bathroom in a run-down house in the middle of Seattle.

After locking the door behind her, Lacey eagerly went to turn the shower on, running it to a comfortable temperature. She peeled her blood-splatter sniper jacket, bullet-proof vest, thin t-shirt, jeans, underclothes and boots off, happy for freedom from the dirty laundry.

Standing in a shower never felt so wonderful. The warm water rinsed over her bare skin soothingly. Lacey closed her eyes, getting lost in the pleasant spray of the water longer than she intended.

* * *

Bucky inhaled sharply between his teeth the razor nicked his chin as he finished shaving his face. He leaned towards the mirror and inspected the cut, gingerly wiping away the blood. The blood instantly stopped. He grimly realized the mark had already started fusing itself together again as his regenerative cells quickly healed the small affliction.

Bucky shook his head and rinsed the razor, then rubbed a hand through his long, damp hair in a last attempt to get it dry.

A knock came to the bathroom door and Bucky quickly adjusted the towel wrapped around his waist securely before answering.

Lacey's self-proclaimed father stood there holding a grey t-shirt, jeans and a pair socks. Bucky instantly shied to the side so that his metal arm was hidden by the door.

"I was lucky that the intern student I housed left some of his clothes here when he went back to England, otherwise I wouldn't have had any extra clothes for you. Mine definitely wouldn't have fit that tall form of yours," Jack laughed to himself as he reached in and tossed the clothing on the bathroom counter, unaware of Bucky's unyielding stare.

"I owe you so much for helping my daughter escape that place," Jack said after a moment, looking up at the super soldier, "I've really missed her."

"Have you? Then why didn't you try to rescue her?" Bucky questioned.

"It was years ago since I last saw her...11 years tomorrow actually..." Jack muttered, "By the time I found out where she went, I assumed she was dead. And even if she was, there was not way to rescue her from that place."

"But we got out..." Bucky said, tapping the door rhythmically with his flesh fingers.

"I was on the outside looking in, there wasn't anything I could do to save her," retorted Jack, narrowing his eyes at Bucky, "Are you insinuating that I don't care about her?"

Bucky scowled. This man was too defensive over something he didn't even really even suggest.

"I didn't say that," Bucky responded carefully.

Jack looked up at Bucky angrily, "Look, I don't know who you are. I know I owe you for my daughter's life, but I don't trust you. Just know that you're walking on thin ice. If I see you do anything just a hair out of line, I'll kick you out."

Bucky straightened a bit, not saying a thing. He hadn't done anything to deserve this man's wrath. For a man who was grateful that Bucky saved his daughter, he wasn't treating him very kindly. Bucky felt unease grip him as he looked down into the burning eyes of Jack Jefferson. He didn't know what possessed him too, but Bucky leaned in slightly towards the shorter man. He gave him the wickedest smirk he could muster and whispered, "Well, then just know that I'll be keeping my eye on you too. You have no idea what your daughter has been through, but if you make her life any worse than it is now ... I _will_ end you."

A look of fear flashed in Jack's eyes, but instantly disappeared as he turned away.

"The food is ready, so come down when you're done," he growled huskily over his shoulder as he went down the stairs.

Bucky wagged his head in bewilderment and closed the bathroom door to put on the clothes that Jack gave him. He lastly put the dingy black sniper jacket and gloved his left hand to hide his cybernetic arm.

He stepped out of the bathroom and dead-stopped when he saw Lacey walking towards him wearing just a bathrobe. Her hair, always in the tight bun, laid in loose, red-brown curls around her shoulders and back. She'd taken her glasses off, revealing her beautiful, green eyes. She grinned when she saw him, making his stomach suddenly feel funny.

"Wow..." she gasped, walking up to him to get a better look.

"What?" Bucky inquired nervously, looking away when he realized that he had a clear view of her cleavage through her loose-fitting bathrobe.

"You just clean up really nice. The shave...it looks good on you," Lacey told him, seeming to giggle at her own awkward statement.

"Thanks. You too," slipped out of Bucky's mouth before he even knew what he was saying.

He visibly shook his head and exclaimed, "I mean, you look good cleaned up...not shaved! I mean, I'm sure you would look just the same shaved, since you're a girl. But, it's just...nevermind."

God, had he been this awkward around women back in the forties?

Lacey laughed out loud at his horrible effort to rescue his stupid statement, but Jack interrupted the odd moment between the two from downstairs, "Come on, the meal is getting cold!"

Lacey trotted down the steps, followed by blushing Bucky, who was nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

* * *

"So my last name is really Jefferson? Not Turner?" Lacey asked Jack as she took a bite of a strip of bacon.

"Schweitzer must have changed your last name after he wiped your memory. I don't know why he decided to keep your first name, though..." Jack said from across the table.

Lacey nodded, then glared at Bucky, who was pacing around the room like a caged animal.

"Would you sit down, you're making me nervous!" Lacey snapped at him, "We're safe now, you can calm down."

Bucky gave her a look of exasperation, then ceased his nervous steps but remained standing. Lacey rolled her eyes and returned to her father, "So if you're my dad...then who was my mom?"

Jack frowned, "She died while giving birth to you..."

Lacey flinched and glued her eyes to her plate.

"I'm sorry," she breathed.

Jack smiled and laid his fingers over her prone hand laying on the table, "Sweetheart, you're here. That's all that matters now."

Lacey's heart warmed as she gazed into the kind eyes of her father, but jumped when she heart Bucky snort derisively.

She shot him an angry look and he gave her a shrug of innocence in return. Lacey had to bite her tongue to keep from saying something cutting to the super soldier. Instead she managed to say, "Would you mind giving me and my dad some time to talk over things for a while?"

Bucky hesitated, but then nodded in understanding. He started towards the front door, but not before giving Jack a pointed glare. Bucky let the screen door slam behind him and Lacey asked, "What was that about?"

"Oh, we just disagreed on something earlier. Nothing you have to worry about, sweetie," Jack told her kindly.

Lacey smiled in return, then she inquired, "Dad, do you know what exactly is going on at the site where they kept Bucky and I?"

Jack shrugged, "Who can say? Human testing , obviously. But for what purpose, I have no idea."

"Do you know why they would've taken me, out of all the girls in the world?"

"You knew how to build cybernetic limbs because I taught you. There was a technology convention in town and you begged to attend for your 16th birthday. While you were there, your skills became clear to a man named Erik Schweitzer and he could do nothing but rave about the level of talent you possessed. I left you there for a while to go pick up dinner, then when I returned you were gone. Dr. Schweitzer was still there but I was positive that he'd had his men abduct you. There was no evidence and all legal cases were lost, crushing my hopes of ever getting you back. Then Schweitzer disappeared off the grid and it wasn't until a two years ago that I got a tip-off that he set up a site in Switzerland. By that time though, I was sure you were dead..."

Lacey took in his every word and asked, "Where did you learn to work with cybernetics?"

"I showed an interest in building things and got into Stark Industries, which had a branch in developing Cybernetics. I went to school for a short time, then began working for them. I've retired from that business now, though," answered Jack.

"This is just all so weird..." Lacey breathed, placing a palm against her forehead, feeling light-headed.

Jack stood up, pouring Lacey a glass of water then handed it to her. Lacey sipped at the cool drink gratefully while all the new information about her life spun in her mind.

It was a strange thing, having no memory. Nothing sounded familiar to her. It felt as if someone was rewriting her personal story, which scared her. Reality never seemed so confusing.

* * *

Bucky tranquilly walked around outside, enjoying the scent of fresh rain in the air. The downpour stopped, leaving only the sound of distant dripping leaves dropping into the grass.

Bucky tread across the mossy earth, curiously looking around the house. His eyes landed on a swing tied to a low-hanging branch on an oak tree. Bucky smirked, imagining a little girl with crazy auburn hair swinging back and forth on a lazy summer day, a big smile spread cross her freckled face.

...The same little girl who would one day be imprisoned and have every happy memory wiped away from her mind...

Bucky swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth, trying not to think of how badly Lacey's life had turned.

He wondered how Jack could even stop trying to get his daughter back?

Bucky's chest heaved as he gave a weighted sigh and he slowly made his way around the house. He came to the rear of the country home and saw a double-door cellar made into the base of the home. He curiously walked up to the doors and saw a giant padlock preventing further investigation. Or did it?

Bucky looked at his gloved hand thoughtfully, then swiftly reached down and completely ripped off the padlock as if it were a paper chain. Bucky dropped the lock and flexed his bionic hand, once again surprised by its strength.

Bucky opened the cellar doors quietly, and stepped inside, feeling around on the cob-webbed walls until he found the light switch.

The room was musty and dark, much like the site in Switzerland, rendering Bucky apprehensive to go any farther than the entrance. But in his gut he knew he'd come to far to back away.

Bucky walked down the steps into the wet, cold cellar and found himself looking at large room leading to what looked like a prison cell.

Bucky's heart began to pump as he cautiously stepped forward and saw a odd chair sitting in the middle of the cell. It was bulky and resembled a barber's chair, only it had strips attached to the leg and arm rests.

Bucky gasped and stumbled backwards when a flash burst before his eyes.

_"It didn't work! We're going to have to try it again. Wipe him and start over."_

"ARGHHH!' Bucky screamed in agony, his brain feeling as if it were going to burst through his skull.

Bucky's heart palpitated and he fell into a sitting position against the damp stairs, clutching his head with his hands, screaming as memories of blinding pain overtook his body.

His brain pounded, his skin began to sweat, his mouth ran dry. He slumped over and fell to the ground, eyes growing dim as he heard a distant familiar voice call his name, _"Are you all right, Bucky? Bucky!"_


	9. Playing With Fire

**A/N: Hello, everybody! Thank you for being so patient while I got this chapter out! I really was looking forward to writing this chapter but life has just been crazy! **

**I wanted to touch on a couple things made known to me through reviews and such: Okay, so yes, Bucky and Lacey already have an attraction towards each other. How can they not? I don't plan on having anything too crazily romantic happen between the two because this story is not going to head in that direction. I have different thoughts of how I want it to end and a lot of you may not be happy with my decision. Anyway, for those of you who aren't, I am planning on writing a sequel that'll take place after Captain America: Winter Soldier when I'm through with this fanfic! If you like the ending to this story, I doubt that you'd want to read the next one, but for you who want more Bucky and Lacey, then it shall continue on because I randomly had an idea for a whole other plot while in the shower the other day! :)**

**Again, thank you to all my reviewers! You give me such encouragement and I love hearing your positive feedback. You guys are awesome!**

**-Musical Inspiration:**

**Devil May Cry by The Weeknd**

**Rinzler by Daft Punk**

**New Way To Bleed by Evanescence**

Chapter 9

Playing With Fire

* * *

A warm, wet sensation mopped over Bucky's forehead. His eyes cracked open to find himself staring straight into Lacey's green eyes. She pressed wash-cloth against his head, then gently pushed some stray locks off his brow.

She smiled in relief when he shifted in his place on the couch he reclined on, "Hey, good, you're awake."

"Wh-what happened?" Bucky croaked, feeling a dull pain thrumming in his brain.

"You strayed off for a while then while I was talking to my dad I heard you screaming. We found you passed out at the bottom of the cellar stairs. That's all I know..." Lacey explained.

_"Cellar? The cellar!" _

Bucky sat up abruptly, tossing the wash-cloth to the side. He ignored his pounding head and jumped up, grabbing Lacey's hand, "We got to get out of here!"

Lacey balked, "What are you talking about?"

"Your so-called father has one of those machines that erase memories. I-I looked at it and all I could feel was the excruciating!" Bucky hissed to her, trying to coax her away, "Didn't you see the chair in the cellar?"

"I saw it, but don't worry, my father explained," Lacey responded calmly.

"How do you explain having a memory-wipe machine in your basement, Lacey?'" Bucky's voice rose an octave as the fear of being submitted to the memory wiper afflicted his being.

"It isn't a wipe chair," Jack's voice said from behind Bucky, giving him a start.

Bucky swung around and swept his flesh arm out to push Lacey protectively behind himself.

"Bucky..?" Lacey murmured, her tone questioning.

"What do you claim it is?" growled Bucky, clenching his bionic fist, hearing the arm's mechanics clicking faintly under his sleeve.

"It's a simulator, my friend. If you'd just looked a little longer, you would have noticed the difference. The wipe and simulator chairs are very similar in appearance, but so different in function," Jack answered smoothly, walking towards them.

Bucky narrowed his eyes, keeping a firm hold on Lacey's arm to keep her behind his form.

"I assure you that this machine's sole purpose is to do good," Jack told Bucky sternly.

"Then why hide it in a cellar?" Bucky countered.

"Because you don't understand the rarity of the machine. I'm still working out the kinks. I'm the only one who has gotten so far in the development for this device, which was intended to be used to train soldiers," explained Jack, sitting down in armchair across from them.

Bucky wasn't convinced. He glowered at Jack and asked, "If the machine does what you say it does, then you could show me that you're telling the truth."

"I could but I highly doubt that you'll be brave enough after that fainting spell you had just at the sight of the machine," snorted Jack.

Bucky could only be pushed so far. With a vicious snarl, he released Lacey's arm and jumped forward, grasping the older man's collar angrily and yanked him upwards with his flesh hand.

"Bucky!" exclaimed Lacey.

Jack and Bucky were nose-to-nose. Bucky hissed through clenched teeth, "Don't mock me!"

Jack looked at Bucky without fear, eyes cold as ice. He brushed away Bucky's hand. Lacey desperately grabbed a hold of the super soldier's sleeve to make sure he didn't advance on her father again.

"Touchy," sniffed Jack as he walked towards the back door, "And you're welcome as ever to test out the simulator."

A growl rumbled in Bucky's throat as he took a step to follow Jack, but Lacey pulled at his sleeve again. She stared up at him with wide eyes and said seriously, "You don't have to prove anything."

"I do, actually. I need to find out whether we're safe here. You saved me from that hell-hole and I don't plan on idly standing by with this guy being so suspicious."

"He's my father, Bucky, I don't think he'd hurt either of us," Lacey said quietly.

Bucky took Lacey's hand in his gloved cybernetic hand, "You've had your memory erased, Lacey. You can't trust your own mind. You need to follow your gut instinct. If nothing about Jack Jefferson seems strange to you, just tell me and I won't test out the simulator. I won't ever say anything negative about him again. I trust your feelings. But if there is even one red flag going up in your mind, I beg you to let me to keep investigating."

Lacey looked up at him for a long moment and bit her lip, looking down at her boots.

"I just want something to be real, and I thought that discovering my father would bring me clarity..." she whispered in a broken tone.

Bucky felt his heart tighten. He, more than anyone, understood her longing to know the past. Nothing felt worse than having a whole part of your life stolen from you.

Bucky gently pulled Lacey's into his arms and enveloped her in a tender hug. He felt her stiffen in surprise for only a moment before melting into his chest and wrapping her arms around his strong midriff. She buried her face in his flesh shoulder and he could feel her entire body quaking.

"_We_ are real, Lacey," Bucky murmured into to her auburn hair, placing his flesh hand gently on the small of her back, "And we can only trust one another from now on."

Lacey nodded into his shirt, then she pulled back and smiled up at him, cheeks blushing. Bucky couldn't help but mirror her shy, trusting grin.

"Let's go check this 'simulator' out," Bucky said, then walked to the cellar with Lacey.

* * *

Lacey knew Bucky well enough to know when he was scared.

He'd been scared when he woke up from a coma when he'd been Subject 332.

Bucky definitely feared the chair.

Lacey glanced up at his tight expression as he warily stood before the cell-like room. Jack prepped the monitor in sync with the device on the outside of the cell.

"Have a seat," Jack offered, flourishing his hand towards the villainous chair.

Bucky walked stiffly like his legs were bionic as well, sitting down in the chair and leaning against the reclined back.

"What exactly does this do?" Bucky asked shortly as Jack walked in after him and placed small, sticky black plastic electrodes against the super soldier's temples.

"You see your fears and face them," Jack answered, "If a soldier knows how to face his fears, then he is invincible."

Lacey gulped, worried for Bucky's well-being. As a doctor, she knew this wouldn't be good for his mental stability, but he implored to test this machineto ensure their safety.

"Get outside of the cell, Lacey," Jack instructed her, taking her by the arm and pulling her away from Bucky's side. She made brief eye-contact with the super soldier as she moved away, blood running cold at the terror that was building behind Bucky's stormy eyes.

"You'll be in the simulator for 10 minutes to begin with," Jack announced, locking the cell door behind them, "Just remember that you can't exit the simulation for that time frame."

"We can't pull him out if his heart rate rises too much? I mean, this simulator works like a nightmare would, so if he's scared badly enough his pulse is bound to skyrocket," Lacey said urgently.

"I am quite certain he'll be fine for 10 minutes," Jack sighed, then directed his voice to Bucky, "On my count, we'll turn the simulator on. No one but you will see what you fear, but the brain waves we monitor will tell us if we need to intensify the dream. Once you've reached maximum intensity, that means that you're able to handle all situations. I'm starting nightmare intensity at only 1.5 percent."

Bucky's chest heaved and he responded, "Just start the damn thing."

"As you wish," Jack retorted with a bitter chuckle, "Begin simulation in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

Lacey jumped when all the lights in the cellar suddenly went off and an automated voice said, "_COMMENCE SIMULATION."_

The only illumination in the room was the dull screen light of the brain-wave monitor on Jack's desk.

Lacey paused for a moment, then whispered, "How long will it take for the nightmare to-"

Suddenly the needles scratching out Bucky's brain waves on the paper started going crazy. She stepped forward and looked at the graph in shock. Bucky was having a nightmare.

"It works..." breathed Lacey.

"Of course it works. You didn't think the man who taught you everything about prosthesis was an idiot, did you?" scoffed Jack.

Lacey didn't answer when she suddenly heard horrific moaning coming from inside the dark cell as Bucky thrashed about the chair.

* * *

"Begin simulation in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

_"COMMENCE SIMULATION."_

Bucky froze when the lights went off in the room and a cold sensation swept over him. He shivered slightly, then blinked in confusion to find himself sitting in the middle of nowhere on a ground of ice. He stood up, booted feet almost slipping out from under him as he looked around. He saw nothing, except the hazy weather of a winter mid-day. Each way he turned, nothing but icy dullness could be seen.

"What the hell?" Bucky breathed, but gasped when he felt something strange beneath the soles of his boots.

He looked down as the ground wrapped itself around his feet, slowly consuming him. He gasped and attempted to pull his leg away, but the ice continued to coil itself around him, pulling him into the icy prison.

"No!" he cried out, feeling the choking power of the ice swallowing up his body until he was up to his naval in ice.

"Bucky!" a distance voice called out from the echoing tundra.

Bucky's eyes shot up and he looked towards the sound. He saw Lacey standing far in the distance. She waved at him and began to approach, but was suddenly seized by a faceless man.

"Lacey!" Bucky yelled, trying to come towards her but the ice slowly engulfing his body was up to his shoulders now, pinning down his arms to his sides.

The man threw Lacey to the ice and put a gun barrel to her skull.

"NO!" Bucky tried to cry out but his voice halted when the ice reached his face, covering his mouth.

He froze in time, his eyes glued open, staring out into the white abyss. His lungs stuck in an inflated state, his mouth agape.

He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, he couldn't help the one who needed him most.

He hadn't a clue how much time passed before his chest felt the ache of the lack of oxygen. His head spun with his terror for Lacey's safety as his mind faded out. He grew fuzzier as consciousness left his body and if he could move, his eyes would've rolled back in his head as he blacked out.

_"Lacey..."_

* * *

"Stop the machine! He's going to have a seizure!" Lacey exclaimed as she heard Bucky thrashing around violently in the chair.

"It only has 30 seconds left, honey," Jack said, unconcerned, "He'll be fine."

Lacey growled in frustration and lunged towards the cell door.

"Lacey, no!" Jack's hand shot out to unsuccessfully grab her arm as she unlatched the door and ran into the dark cell.

"Bucky? Bucky, wake up!" Lacey cried out, sliding to a halt next to the super soldier.

He hung off the edge of the chair, his body convulsing in the grips of the simulation. Lacey grabbed a hold of his shoulders and attempted to awaken Bucky from his nightmare.

Suddenly the lights overhead snapped on and sound of powering down thumped loudly. Bucky let out one last cry and he slumped weakly into Lacey's arms. She stroked his dark hair and twisted around to glare at Jack, "1.5 percent? What the hell would anything higher have done to him?"

"That wouldn't have happened if he had reacted the appropriate way to the situation in his mind," Jack answered, "He's unexperienced."

Bucky groaned against Lacey's shirt, then shakily sat up. He pinched the bridge of his nose, blinking hard.

"Are you okay?" Lacey inquired uneasily, gently brushing his hair out off his forehead.

"Lacey? You're all right?" he rasped, looking at her intently with his intense, blue-grey eyes.

"Of course I am," Lacey responded quietly.

"You got attacked by...someone...he was going to shoot you and I couldn't stop them..." he whispered, licking his lips and looking down at the space between them.

Jack stepped forward and inquired, "Who was the person who attacked Lacey?"

"I-I don't know, his image was blurry," Bucky stammered, blinking hard.

"I was afraid of that," Jack sighed, running a hand through his thinning hair, "Because of your damaged mental strain, you'll be unable to see clear images. And without clear images, your mind can not accurately retain the training you receive inside the simulator. So it's like you've not been inside it at all."

Bucky scowled up at Jack, "So, you're telling me that if you keep going into this simulator that you'll be mentally trained to take on any combat situation?"

"The longer you stay in the simulator, the more comfortable you become. You can handle the situations your mind and the simulator creates. You'll be ready to fight outside of the simulator from what you learn on the inside," Jack explained, "But all of that doesn't really matter since you just wanted to find out if I was telling the truth or not, correct? This is most definitely not a wipe machine."

Bucky looked off to the side thoughtfully and Lacey could see the desire to use the simulator again wash over his stern features.

A side effect of the super soldier serum was the constant need to train and exert the mind and body. Lacey could often see Bucky's restlessness when he wasn't active. He wanted desperately to explore this new training method.

"Say that I wanted to continue...Is there anything you can do to make my visions clear so that they'll be 100 percent effective? I don't want to subject myself to that again for no reason," Bucky asked slowly.

Lacey opened her mouth, "Bucky, I don't think that's-"

"There is a drug that sharpens the mind when in the simulator. I could inject you with it if you wanted to try again to see if it would work," Jack cut Lacey off.

Lacey inquired sharply, "What sort of drug?

The men ignored her words again.

Bucky clenched his fists and nodded, "I want to try it."

"I developed for people without sharp memories and I think it'll make retention of the simulator more clinging," Jack replied, walking out of the cell to a cabinet.

Lacey looked back at Bucky and whispered urgently, "I really don't think you should do this, Bucky, I thought you said that we can't trust anyone but ourselves!"

"Exactly, this is why I should train myself to protect you and I," Bucky responded seriously, not looking her in the eye.

Lacey knew it her gut that this wasn't a good idea. But try forcing a superhuman to not do something they wanted to do.

Jack returned with a syringe in his hand and said, "Roll up your sleeve and we'll get started."

Lacey stood up away from Bucky and intently watched the scene developing before her.

Her mind screamed as Jack injected Bucky's muscular forearm, _"No, no, no, no!"_

Lacey ran a hand through her hair and nervously walked out of the cell as Jack said, "Let's restart at 1.5 percent again."

Lacey couldn't look as Jack shut Bucky in the cell and began the countdown. She turned away and stared blankly at the wall as she heard Jack's voice, "Begin simulation in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

_"COMMENCE SIMULATION."_


	10. Fear Itself

**A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you for waiting patiently while I struggled through these past two chapters. I was floundering a bit but now I've got my act together! Thanks also for the wonderful reviews! You guys really do make me love fanfiction and writing!**

**To comment on the review: There is a lack of details because this is an unfolding story! Hang tight and you'll understand all eventually!**

**Shout-out to the bestest fanfiction buddy who has been there for me during my horrid case of writer's block, Bucky Flavord Skittles! You is the Steve to my Bucky, girl (And the Sam to my Dean)! You rock!**

**Musical Inspiration!:**

**Faint by Linkin Park**

**Nemesis by Two Steps from Hell**

**You Decide by Fireflight**

**Feed the Machine by RED**

* * *

Chapter 10

Fear Itself

_Darkness. A black abyss with no way out._

"Where am I?"

_I opened my eyes, blinking to get an inkling of my location. The air felt close and hot and I couldn't move my arms from my sides._

_"Hello!" I cried out, wriggling my shoulders to free myself of whatever held me down._

_No answer came and I jerked around more desperately, crying out louder, "HEY! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"_

_Suddenly a light flashed in front of my face and I looked upwards. A sole glass window to the outside world rested in front of my face. As the light shined inside, I could see that I was encased in a form of metal coffin. My breath came quick as I began to panic, claustrophobia gripping my body like demonic claws._

_Muffled words resounded from the outside of the coffin and a red light began flashing above my head. I looked around in confusion as a hiss reached my ears, a strange fog shortly following. I felt my eyes droop drowsily. A chill, beginning at my feet, traveled up the length of my body. The alarm that should have been in the forefront of my mind subdued by the anesthetic that emitted from the hydraulics of the metal coffin. My skin became rigid, my lungs froze mid-breath, my eyes slid shut and iced over by the milky frost that ceased all my systems. My jaw locked closed, my joints solidified, I felt the blood in my veins become sluggish and syrupy. _

_The last thing I thought as my thought-processes shut down was, "Why am I here?"_

* * *

Lacey sat on the front porch steps as Bucky and Jack messed around with the simulator for the 6th time in the past week. She'd quickly grown weary of watching Bucky be put in the chair repeatedly, subjecting himself to the nightmarish realm of the simulation. His convulsions grew so badly that now, on level 7.0, he required straps to hold him down to the chair.

She ran a hand through her hair, mentally pushing away the frightening images of Bucky's body shaking and his desperate whimpering escaping his sculpted lips.

She cringed, hearing a scream erupt faintly from the basement of the house.

She'd no idea why he'd suddenly decided he wanted to use such a weapon made by a man he barely trusted. It didn't make any sense.

Lacey gazed at the overcast sky, then stood up with a sigh. She walked up to porch steps and stepped inside the screen door to enter the house. She directly went up the stairs to the room that she'd been sleeping in. Jack told her that the room once was hers when she was a child. The room had since been revamped, looking only like a dull spare room with a surplus of bookshelves lining the walls.

Lacey threw herself on the puffy mattress and rolled on her side to examine the books on the shelf across from the foot of her bed.

The man owned all the books she thoughts he would. _Cybernetics for Dummies_, _Dealing with Amputation_, the _Mechanics Digest_. Nothing sparked her interest.

Lacey huffed and curled into a ball on her bed, mind running wild as she tried to ignore the worry pitting in her stomach. Through her anguished thoughts, she barely heard the quiet boot-steps walking up to the doorway behind her. She opened an eye and saw Bucky weakly leaning against the door frame.

She bolted up and upon seeing his listless expression, inquired worriedly, "Are you all right?"

"Just finished l-level 7.5..." Bucky wavered on his feet, then his knees buckled from under him.

"Bucky!" exclaimed Lacey, attempting to catch him under his arms as he went down, but fell to the ground with him.

"DAD!" Lacey screamed for Jack.

She heard Jack's feet rush up the stairs. He paused over them and Lacey glared up at him, "What's wrong with him?"

"He's had a lot of mental stress, this isn't anything to worry about. He just needs to rest after his simulations," Jack answered, leaned down to hoist up Bucky's mostly limp body.

Lacey scowled and stood up, "I think I need to take that machine to a lab and test it to make sure it's safe. It's not doing good things to his systems."

Jack stopped and looked at Lacey, "How do you plan on going out in public to take a machine like that into a hospital to test when all of Dr. Schweitzer's men are probably looking for you two?"

Lacey blinked. Her father had been increasingly cagey about the simulator. The more questions Lacey asked about it, the more tight-lipped he became.

She took a deep breath, then inquired, "You're trying to hurt him, aren't you?"

Jack froze, then threw Lacey a strange look, "He saved your life, why would I try to hurt him?

"You seem set on having him go into that simulator time after time..." Lacey murmured.

Jack didn't respond.

"... If you are trying to hurt him, I don't know what I'd do. I care for and owe Bucky a lot and I won't stand for anyone trying to do anything to him."

Jack looked at Lacey for a long moment, then replied, "I'm not hurting him."

Lacey still felt uneasy about Jack's behavior, but she allowed him to take Bucky to the spare room that he'd been spending the night. Lacey followed him and she warily watched Jack lay Bucky down on the bed.

"I'll keep an eye on him," she said shortly, moving herself in between Bucky and her father.

Jack recognized the suspicion in her seething gaze and he took his leave without a word.

Lacey sat on the edge of Bucky's bed and took his metal hand in hers. She felt strangely compelled to see the handiwork of the arm that had been hidden ever since they'd left Switzerland. She slipped off the glove and ran her fingers over the intricate metal ribbing around the knuckles.

Lacey's eyes moved towards his slack face, longing for him to awaken so she could talk to him about her fears of the machine. She didn't want to go into another simulation. She didn't want him to step into the cellar ever again.

She rubbed her hand back and forth against the cool metal of his palm, gazing at his dark features in apprehension.

* * *

_My eyes slammed open. Icy needles gnawed at my skin. My heart thumped in my dead chest, slowly at first, then accelerated. Moisture built up on my skin as my body thawed._

_A shockingly sharp sound of screech afflicted my hypersensitive ears. I gasped as my filled lungs a blast of fresh air blast in on him as the coffin door opened._

_A pair of gloved hands shot in towards me and undid the straps clasped around his arms and torso. I looked up and saw the face of an elder man I didn't recognize completely. _

_But I knew him._

_He was dangerous. _

_"We've got work for you, Sergeant," the man said in a gruff voice. _

_I pulled back, knowing I couldn't trust this man. _

_"NO!" I exclaimed, pushing him away with my right hand._

_"Sergeant, please, you need to come with me," the man commanded, voice becoming irritated._

_A hand swatted across my cheek. The sting amplified exponentially, my sensitive skin already raw from prolonged exposure to the cold. _

_"We have work to do. You will do what I tell you."_

_"Like hell!" I roared, swinging forward and attacking him._

_He fell backwards, hitting the floor hard as I crouched over him._

* * *

His eyes snapped open first before Lacey realized what was happening. With a strangled cry, Bucky launched himself off the bed, throwing her backwards. She landed on the ground, her head knocking against the hardwood floor. Stars flashed in front of her eyes before she focused in on his face. There wasn't an any there, just a deadpan expression. He stared spiritless at her, pulling his bared metal arm back and curling his adamantium fingers into a fist.

"W-What are you...?" Lacey inhaled sharply, realizing what he was about to do.

She heard the metallic chinking in his arm as it revved up for a super-powered punch. She brought her arms up to her face in defense, knowing that it wouldn't rescue her from her grim fate.

Lacey's eyes fused to his, searching for a sign of life behind the glassy murk that resided there. She felt her eyes sting, knowing that he didn't know her. Not a flicker of recognition flashed across his face as she cried out, "Bucky, it's me! Lacey!"

Without thinking, Lacey reached up and lightly caressed his cheek. The touch obviously startled him, his eyes centering in on her as he hesitated.

Instantly, his facial expression softened. His eyes darted around then returned to her face again, "H-how did I get here?"

Lacey sat up as Bucky shakily pushed himself off her. He looked at his metal arm as if it were an alien adversary.

"You've been out of the simulator for a while but you passed out just a few minutes ago..." Lacey told him, rubbing the back of her sore head tenderly.

"No...the last thing I remember was being put into the simulation..." Bucky answered, looking up at Lacey despairingly.

Lacey frowned. This machine was taking over Bucky's relatively sane mind and she wasn't going to stand aside while that happened. But before she could prove that her father was screwing with Bucky's mind, she needed to try the simulator herself.

She marched towards the door, but before she could leave, Bucky caught her wrist. She turned sharply towards him with questioning in her expression.

His look was apologetic, "I didn't want to hurt you."

"You're hurting me just by getting in that damn machine over and over! Why the hell do you do it to yourself?" she demanded to know.

"I'm getting stronger, I can feel it."

"Something's definitely happening to you, but it sure as hell isn't your strength increasing!" Lacey snapped, jerking her hand away from him.

Bucky licked his lips nervously and started again, "Lacey-"

"No. I told you not to do this and look what has happened! It's like your addicted of scaring the shit out of yourself because you think it makes you 'stronger.' It's like a drug, it makes you feel good when you have it but the after effect is..." Lacey's eyes widened, realization dawning on her, "It _is_ a drug, isn't it? It's not the machine at all, it's that drug he has administered!"

Bucky said nothing, just stared openly at her.

"How many times have you taken that 'enhancer' drug?" she inquired angrily.

Bucky gritted his teeth, "It doesn't matter. I'm not addicted to anything."

"You like the way that drug makes you feel. It makes you feel complete, doesn't it?" Lacey guessed, "So how many times have you taken that injection?"

Bucky looked at the ground and answered shortly, "Once before and after each session."

Lacey froze and gaped at him. She'd not seen him take the drug since the second time he'd tried out the simulator. Her father must have secretly given Bucky the drug.

Rage pooled into her core, knowing that her father had done this to him. She spun on her heel and charged out the door.

"Lacey, no! He has nothing to do with this!" Bucky yelled after her.

She didn't heed his words though. She had to treat him like an addict and she knew full well he would try to stop her from taking away his source of pleasure.

Lacey ran throughout the house, searching for Jack and finally found him in the kitchen. He looked up from his furious typing on a laptop as she stormed in and quickly shut the screen.

"What have you given Bucky?" she roared at him, pointing an accusing finger at him.

Jack rolled his eyes, "Oh, this again."

"Yes, _this_ again! Tell me why he had such a horrible nightmare that, thinking he was still in the simulator, attacked me?" Lacey shouted.

"He's an ex-soldier, he's bound to have some violent flashbacks," Jack returned calmly.

Bucky entered the room behind Lacey as she exclaimed, "Flashbacks? This wasn't a flashback! He was having a legit night terror! He lunged out of bed and was going to physically harm me!"

"He would have woken up, you need to relax," Jack responded lackadaisically.

_Relax._

"What did you just say?" Lacey inquired warily.

"I said you need to relax," Jack repeated.

Lacey's eyes widened and she backed away when a certain phrase echoed in her mind, _"Tomorrow you won't remember a thing..."_

"I don't...I..." Lacey stammered, backing away until she accidentally bumped into Bucky's chest.

She spun around and looked up with a solemn expression. He looked so severe in that moment that Lacey recoiled.

"What's the matter?" Bucky inquired darkly.

"You said that I could only trust in you and me. But how can I do that when I don't even trust myself?"

"What do you mean you don't trust yourself?" Bucky asked, lofty brow furrowing.

Lacey didn't want to talk to him. She dodged his hand that reached out, then ran upstairs to her old room, locking the door behind her.

She slid to a sitting position with her back against the door, letting her head fall into her hands as sobs overtook her


	11. Separation Anxiety

**A/N: Welcome back! I am thrilled with this chapter because seriously, the party is about to get started! We are also coming to the close of this story :( Oh dear...at least there is going to be a sequel!**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews! They keep me going! **

**Musical Inspiration:**

**-Stairway to the Skies by Within Temptation**

**-Numb by Linkin Park**

**-Puppet by Thousand Foot Krutch**

Chapter 11

Separation Anxiety

* * *

A knock came to Lacey's door a while later, and she pulled herself off the floor. She'd fallen asleep crying, face salt-crusted with dried tears. She self-consciously wiped her cheeks with her sleeve, then opened the door.

Lacey took a step back, taking in Bucky's strong form in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" he asked softly.

Lacey hesitated, almost afraid to let him near in fear of him exploding into another violent episode.

"It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you," Bucky said in a hurt tone, reading her emotions clearly.

Lacey stepped back cautiously, allowing him into her room. He idly stalked to the opposite side of the room and awaited her to close the door.

Lacey latched the door and told him seriously, "We need to leave."

Bucky's head shot up in alarm, "What?"

"Come on, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! This place is unsafe and we need to go," Lacey repeated, crossing her arms.

Bucky shook his head firmly, "I can't give up on this now. I've come so far!"

"Bucky, listen to yourself! You want to stay in a dangerous place so that you can get stronger? Meanwhile, I'm forced to watch my so-called father destroy the only friend I have from the inside out! You'd think that you'd be concerned for the person you wanted so much to protect last week!" Lacey growled at him, "You claim to want to guard us, but you're tearing yourself down in the process!"

Bucky's mouth opened to retort, but his jaw snapped shut after wise consideration.

"I can't leave, Lacey, not yet. There is something about this that feels right."

Lacey's heart pounded in her chest as she countered, "You told me to look at the flags. There could be something about this that feels right, but how much about this feels wrong?"

Bucky looked away, jaw clenching in fury.

"I'm not staying," Lacey added firmly.

A flicker of anger that she rarely saw on his dark features appeared. He frowned deeply and snarled, "Fine. Leave."

Lacey flinched at his harsh words and truthfully told him, "I don't want to go without you, Bucky."

She walked to him slowly as he gave her a fierce glare, "But that doesn't matter, you're going regardless."

Lacey stopped and looked at him sadly, "If that's the way it has to be..."

Lacey blinked at him for a minute when he didn't respond, then she moved to pick up the assault rifle and her extra clothes off the dresser.

"You're leaving now?" Bucky inquired quickly, moving forward to block her way through the door.

"You told me to trust my gut instinct and it says to leave right away," Lacey responded, then stepped close to him.

She placed a hand on the muscles span of his chest to steady herself as she stood on tiptoe and kissed him sweetly on the cheek.

Bucky blinked in surprise as she leaned into him and whispered in his ear, "Goodbye...and good luck."

Lacey pulled away and only kept eye contact with him for a moment before she opened the door.

Tears threatened at the loss of her only companion as she set out on her own for the first time since her departure from the site in Switzerland.

She put her sniper jacket over her t-shirt as she walked down the steps, heading towards the front door. She slung the rifle strap over her shoulder and reached out to turn the knob. She gasped when a hand shot out of the dark and grasped her shoulder, wrenching her around. She stumbled backwards and stared in the face of Jack Jefferson.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, reaching out to slam the opened front door.

For the first time, Lacey felt inherently threatened by Jack. He advanced and pushed her into the next room, asking in an urgent, hushed tone, "You're leaving?"

Lacey angrily jerked her arm out of his grasp and snapped, "It's none of your business."

"You're my daughter, it's every bit my business!" he snarled.

"Am I really your daughter, Jack? I know I don't have a lot of family experience, but I'm pretty sure a good father wouldn't treat his daughter like this!"

"Of course I'm your father, I have pictures of you all around the house!"

Lacey looked over at the dark line of pictures on the wall and said after a moment, "Yeah, and that's another thing. There are only pictures from when I was a little kid! You said I was abducted when I was 17, how come there are only pictures of me as a 5-year-old and younger?"

Jack paused, then said, "You hated your picture being taken as a teen."

"Oh, isn't that convenient," snorted Lacey, then her face darkened, "I don't trust you, but for some reason Bucky does. I can't make him leave but I sure as hell can run as far away from you as possible."

She pulled the gun off her shoulder and aimed it at Jack, "Now let me leave or I will shoot you."

Jack started at the sight of the gun, then immediately shrank back.

"You're making a huge mistake, girl. You'll regret leaving here," he warned in a dangerous tone, watching as she backed towards the door.

"Isn't it surprising how saying that doesn't really convince me to stay?" Lacey snorted, reaching back to open the door.

"You're abandoning him," Jack added darkly.

"He'll be fine on his own. Trust me when I tell you that. I wouldn't screw with Bucky if I were you," Lacey replied, stepping outside and slammed the door behind her.

She turned around to look off the deck, gazing at the 'borrowed' Toyota Camry.

She ran down the from steps and threw open the door, setting the gun in the passenger seat.

Lacey took one more long look at the house. She knew the answers tied to her past remained there, but now she wasn't so sure that knowing her past was the best thing.

Just a couple of days ago, she longed to know her past more than anything. But now, she couldn't run far enough away.

* * *

Bucky gazed balefully out at the darkness from Lacey's window and watched her car drive away.

His soul warred within him, half screaming to chase after the girl who'd given him his freedom. The other half of him was bolted to the floor of this house, fused to the desire of appeasing his anxious mind and body with the simulator.

Bucky didn't have to turn around to know Jack had appeared behind him. Without moving, he said, "She fears you."

"I'm nothing to fear, Bucky. I merely offered to open your mind. This prospect frightened her. She has been so sheltered in that facility, she hasn't the capacity to welcome revolutionizing thought-processes," Jack explained om a comforting tone.

"But she helped me..." Bucky responded slowly, "I should have gone with her."

"She doesn't know the extent of your special needs."

"And you do?" Bucky inquired, facing Jack.

"You're a super human, you require exertion," Jack replied matter-of-factly, causing Bucky alarm.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Bucky stammered.

How on earth did this man know?

Bucky tensed as Jack walked forward and took his left hand. He pulled the glove off and admired Bucky's metal fingers.

"Beautiful. Just beautiful," he told the ex-soldier, rubbing his fingers about the surface in a way that made Bucky feel like fleeing.

"Flawless workmanship. Adamantium, I presume?" asked Jack, leaning his wrinkled face towards the arm to get a closer look.

"Y-yes."

Jack pulled back and said, "Lacey is a fine cybernetic engineer. She's well-trained."

"I thought you trained her?" Bucky inquired, becoming increasingly wary.

"Oh, no. Of course not. I only had her until she was about 6 years old," scoffed Jack, "That's when she went to live in Switzerland."

Bucky's shock was clear, "But I thought-"

"Everything you thought was only for her benefit, Bucky. Lacey isn't who you think she is," Jack whispered, stepping closer to the man.

"W-what?" Bucky gasped, backing away fearfully.

Jack continued to move towards him until Bucky's back was flush against the wall, "She has been lying to you, son. Her next destination was to take you to Erik Schweitzer, that's why she was wanting to leave so badly. She knew you would follow her, and that's why I'm stopping you. I'm here to help you," Jack told him, voice becoming more urgent.

Bucky's mind reeled, "Are you not really her father?"

"I am, but I put her up for adoption because my parenting skills were not ... what she needed at the age. Schweitzer adopted her and she moved to Switzerland, ending up in that facility. They've obviously brainwashed and trained her, making her their tool. Then when preparations for your revival took place, they assigned her to you as your doctor."

Bucky knotted a quaking hand in his hair as he frantically asked, "Why did she help me escape then?"

"Bucky, you can't trust these people, they can put whatever thoughts they want into your mind. I would be willing to bet that they planned on moving you to a facility her so they could put you on display at Seattle for the Cybernetics expo this summer. If you escaped somehow, the idea that Lacey helped escape would enter your mind. If I hadn't intervened, you'd be following her back to the city like a puppy, falling right into Schweitzer's grasp again."

"But I got shot, we hide in a cave in Switzerland...I remember everything!" Bucky exclaimed, shaking his head furiously.

"Memory implantation."

Bucky sat down on the bed weakly, feeling nauseous.

"Why would she bring me here of all places, though?"

"She was instructed to bring you to her biological father's house, after you got away. She never thought you'd make it this far, but this is the last resort and she planned on taking you away tonight so you could be captured. She didn't bank on me getting involved and ruining her game plan."

"How do you know this information?"

Jack sighed and leaned forward to put a hand on Bucky's metal shoulder, "Because I've been watching out for you for a long time, Sergeant Barnes. My name is Alexander Pierce."

* * *

**A/N: So sorry for the shortness! But if it makes you guys feel better, I've already got the next chapter almost ready to go!**


	12. Shackled

**A/N: Sorry this is such a short chapter again! I meant to put this chapter and the previous together but that would have been a lot of information to digest all at once! Enjoy!**

**Musical Inspiration:**

**-Faceless by RED**

**-Fading by Decyfer Down**

**-What's Happening to Me? by Two Steps from Hell**

**-Impossible by Manafest**

* * *

Chapter 12

Shackled

Lacey sat up with a start, finding herself in the Camry with the windows cracked, sitting in the middle of a Wal-Mart parking lot.

She rubbed her blurry eyes, then blindly tried to start the car. She scowled when the engine choked uselessly as she turned the key in the ignition. Lacey glanced grudgingly at the empty gas meter.

"Dammit," she grunted and popped her door open.

She got out and shivered in the chilly Seattle morning air, gripping her jacket tighter around herself. She then secretively shoved the assault rifle into the duffel bag that still sat in the back seat of the car. She hoisted the bag over her shoulder and walked away, looking for the closest gas station.

Lacey strolled up to a gas station and warily watched people fill up their cars. She felt a trickle of sweat run down her neck. She hated asking for money. On the drive from Salem, Bucky always was the one who asked people for money when the Camry ran out of gas. And people usually forked the money over because of his tall, dark form and cold stare.

She felt a lonely pang course through her, but she shook the feeling off.

Lacey shakily came up to a man and made up a quick story, "Excuse me, sir. I'm trying to get to my sister's house in California and I lost my purse-"

"Go screw yourself," the man growled, turning his back to her.

Lacey sucked at lying.

She walked away and sat down on the bench in front of the gas station's bathrooms and stared ahead. She didn't have any idea what she needed to do next. If she didn't have gas, she wasn't going anywhere.

"Lacey Turner?" a voice came from next to her.

Lacey almost fell over her own feet as she leaped up and scrambled for the duffel bag.

"Whoa, hold on!" Lacey froze and locked eyes with a kind-faced, middle-aged man wearing a black suit.

"Who the hell are you?" hissed Lacey, recoiling.

"I'm a friend," he answered, both palms facing out in defense.

"I don't have friends," Lacey spat through gnashed teeth.

"Something tells me that's a lie. You have a friend. And now he's in grave danger," the man told her, looking at her seriously.

"What do you mean?" Lacey remained tense and a safe distance away from him.

"Ma'am, are you friends with Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes?" the man asked.

Lacey's heart clenched and she stated slowly, "I'd prefer not to discuss this in public. Is there a more private place we can speak?"

"Certainly," the man responded, ushering her away and to a large black suburban parked in the gas station parking lot.

The man popped open the back door and held it for Lacey as she climbed inside. Lacey slid in on the leather seat, inspecting her surroundings. There was only one other man in the driver's seat, wearing a similar black suit like the man who'd approached her outside.

As the man closed the door behind him, Lacey quickly asked, "What do you know about Bucky?"

"Quiet a bit, actually. But I would like to first explain to you who I am. I'm Agent Randall and I'm a part of a top-secret agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. We protect you and the rest of the country from major threats. And the super soldier known as Sergeant Bucky Barnes has come to view on our radar as a potential threat. With his enhanced performance abilities and advanced cybernetic arm, he's been drawing many unsavory, power-hungry beings," Randall explained.

"Is someone getting close?" panic began rising in the pit of Lacey's stomach.

"Yes, actually. Too close for our comfort. One of our field agents made us aware that you two had come to the United States. We recognized this as our time to act. We tailed you and kept a close perimeter at the house you two were residing. Intelligence says you're staying at Jack Jefferson's house...and he's your biological father?"

Lacey shrugged, "Supposedly."

"You don't trust him?"

"He hasn't given me a reason to trust him," Lacey snapped, the subject annoying her.

"Good, then what I'm about to tell you will be easier to digest. Jack Jefferson's inexplicable delusions of grandeur have made him go to great lengths to gain the means to obtain power. The extent of what he's done is unknown, but we do know he harbors a fixation with Bucky Barnes. Intelligence says he claims Barnes as his trump card. He hasn't made a move yet as far as we know, but now they're in the same house alone together. Jefferson can say anything he wants to Barnes, and after you left, he'll most likely believe him."

Lacey's eyes grew wide as she took in the news. After a moment, she almost physically grabbed the driver and shouted, "What are we waiting for, let's go get him!"

"I agree, every second counts. But while we drive I must ask you for any information you can give me on this situation. Do you feel comfortable explaining your journey with Barnes from start to finish?"

"Absolutely, as long as you just get me to that house," Lacey responded, buckling her seat belt.

"Charles, take us to the house at the end of Schmidt Road," Randall called to the chauffeur.

* * *

"I'm sorry? Alexander Pierce? The man who abducted Lacey?" Bucky's mouth threatened to hang open, stunned.

"They told me to tell you that Alexander Pierce was the kidnapper and to use this name instead to hide any real information. That's how vindictive they are," Pierce replied, running a hand through his greying hair.

"And who are 'they?'" Bucky asked.

"Scum, the people who we don't want to become. I'm a part of an operation.. or rather, a revolution to shape the future so that the world will be safe. And I need a person like you by my side to fight for that cause! I let you use the simulator to increase your strength in hopes that you'd choose to help me," Pierce told him.

Bucky looked at him with a beaten expression and whispered, "Why would Lacey do something like this? I thought..."

"That she was your friend? No, son. No one could understand you. You're different, that's why we need each other. I understand you," Pierce responded.

Bucky glanced down at his clicking left arm. He made a fist, then looked up determinedly, "What must I do?"

Pierce smiled faintly and patted Bucky on the back, "I knew you'd see it my way. First, we are going to go down to the simulator and let you practice more. You will be strong."

Bucky stood up, room spinning as he stumbled after Pierce, a vacant look panned across his face.


	13. His Blood To Command

**A/N: I have thought up so many plot twists for this story I'm not sure Bucky will be able to see straight by the end! Even I'm getting confused! I think I've got it all fixed up now though :) Thanks for all you awesome reviews! You are my life blood, readers! I need you! Keep reviewing! I love you guys! Thanks for sticking with me 'until the end of the line.' **

**Musical Inspiration:**

**Archangel by Two Steps from Hell**

**Damage by RED**

**Monster by Imagine Dragons**

Chapter 13

His Blood To Command

* * *

Bucky followed Pierce into the basement, without question. He honestly didn't know what to say. This seemed only man who had his best interest in mind, so what could he do but follow?

Pierce opened the cell door and kindly instructed Bucky to take a seat in the simulation chair. Bucky obeyed and Pierce, who shackled his arms and legs into the seat.

"Just remember that once you wake up, you'll be stronger. You can get through this," Pierce told him, patting Bucky's flesh shoulder before walking out of the cell.

Bucky stared at the ceiling, listening to Pierce flips switches and turn dials on the operation desk.

Pierce paused for a moment, seeming to note Bucky's heavy expression. Pierce scoffed and moved back into the cell, leaning down in front of the super solder. He put a hand against Bucky's head, forcing him to look into his eyes, "Just remember. This is going to save your life and the lives of many others."

Bucky's eyes flicked back and forth between Pierce's before giving one faint nod.

"Now for the enhancer," Pierce instructed, reaching out to grasp Bucky's forearm and stuck the needle into his pounding vein.

Bucky inhaled flinched slightly at the needle stabbing into his skin.

"Oh, by the way. I forgot that I got you something to help with the simulator!" Pierce exclaimed gleefully and produced something small and black from his pocket.

"What's that?" Bucky inquired, looking at the strange object.

"It's a mouth guard so that you won't bite your tongue in two as the simulations get stronger," Pierce explained, offering the plastic mouthpiece, "Open."

Bucky only hesitated a second before opening his mouth and excepted the piece. But as soon as he gently wet his lips with his tongue to receive the mouthpiece, a flutter danced in his mind. A hint of recognition, he realized.

He'd done this before.

With a soft gasp, Bucky recoiled from the glinting remembrance in his mind's eye. Pierce frowned down at Bucky's expression, "What's wrong with you?"

Bucky visibly jerked when a blinding memory rocked his core. He squeezed his eyes shut and rolled his shoulders in discomfort. He clenched his teeth as sharp pain shot through his mind.

"Barnes," growled Pierce in warning.

Bucky stiffened, back arching off the chair though held firmly by the shackles. His mind burned like acid and his mouth opened, a strangled scream emanating from his throat and echoed through the cellar.

_"You've nowhere to run, you have nowhere to hide. You're ours to control. You will do we I say. We made you who you are now, We saved you from death itself. You are our tool and together we will change the world."_

* * *

The black suburban pulled into the drive and quietly rolled into the front of the house. Lacey anxiously leaned against the door, practically throwing it open before they'd stopped.

"Hold on, Miss Turner," Randall said, reaching out to grab her arm, "Let Agent Wallis and I go in first."

Lacey grudgingly obeyed as they got out of the car, both producing handguns from hidden holsters under their suit jackets. They held the weapons poised as Lacey got out of the car, murmuring, "They're most likely around back in the cellar."

They nodded and walked cautiously around the house until they came to the double-door cellar entrance.

"On my count, we'll enter," instructed Randall, steadying himself in front of the door.

Lacey stood back, ready to run in behind him.

With a subtle gesture with his hand, Randall whispered, "On the count of 3. 1, 2, 3!'

* * *

_"Sergeant Barnes, you're all right, the operations have already taken place," a strangely accented voice said._

_"What?" I gasped, looking around in shock._

_I had returned._

_I was back in the place where I'd been kept as a lab rat just months beforehand when the 107th fell prey to Germany. Where the Nazis had poked and prodded my weakened body. _

_I __drew my hands up before my face to defend myself from the enemy voice, but froze when my eyes focused in on the alien image before my eyes._

_One of my hands was flesh...the other metal. _

_"What did you do to me?" I cried out, thrashing my hands out, catching a doctor with a swift blow from my new metallic arm and threw him across the room. _

_I stared in shock at the superhuman strength of the limb and looked over, seeing a short German man with round glasses, smiling at me._

_"Sergeant Barnes, you are very fortunate to have had the serum tested on you when you were in our care. Otherwise you wouldn't have survived that treacherously high fall of a cliff. Unfortunately, your arm tore away from your body in the accident, so other...arrangements were made," the man said._

_I glared at him, then back at the arm, "It's not human."_

_"No, no it's not, my boy. But neither are you anymore," the man reached out to settled my arms gently against the armrests of the chair I sat in._

_"What are you-" I started but with a wave of the man's hand, metal clasps clamped over my wrists and ankles._

_I cried out in shock, but the man said, "We have work to do, dear boy. And remembering your past isn't necessary. In fact, it's a nuisance."_

_The man reached for my face and grasped my jaw, shoving something shiny and plastic into my mouth, guarding my teeth. My eyes widened in panic as the man moved away and a foreign metal object encircled my head. _

_My mind raced as the objected tightened around my crown. There was only a slight hesitation before the sensation of a thousand knives driving into my head reached my consciousness. I screamed in the purest agony, the electrical pulses whipping through my mind, scrambling every coherent thought. My eyes rolled about madly, dizzying my equilibrium. I closed my eyes, attempting to shut out the pain. I could still see electrical tendrils scooting across my shielded vision, ripping reality away from me._

_Then my world faded away._

* * *

_I found myself awakened by the force of being shoved against a cold, metal wall. I scowled, confused by what transpired before that moment. I reached into my mind with effort to remember...anything._

_"Who...am I?" became the most important question._

_I felt a whoosh of cold wind hit me before a loud slam. I looked up and saw I stood in a unusual upright aluminiferous box._

_"Hey...hey!" I screamed, my voice sounding peculiar to my ears._

_I smacked my hands against the walls, then inhaled sharply when metal clanged against metal. I glanced down to see my left hand as a silvery prosthetic. _

_Did I always have this? _

_I ignored the arm for a time and continued to slam into the coffin-like box, "Let me out of here!"_

_In place of an answer, a hydraulic hissing noise reverberated in the box. I felt the air strike my body like an icy wave, instantly solidifying my being. I lunged forward and braced my hands against the door before the frost weighted down my body. Stone-like, I dropped back, my mind becoming sluggish as my breath suspended in my lungs._

* * *

Bucky's eyes snapped open, finding himself gazing into the self-satisfied face of Alexander Pierce.

"You!" Bucky snarled, jerking forward to attack but was held back by the restraints, "What have you done to me?!"

Pierce chuckled lightly and replied, "Nothing except make you the strongest human killing machine to ever exist in the history of humanity."

"But HYDRA...the short German guy-"

"Arnim Zola was only the beginning, I made you who you truly are," Pierce interrupted, "Lacey merely was a tool to gain your trust so I could finally get you in a state like this. You fell for her without a thought and it's at that moment where I have you at my greatest advantage."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Bucky inquired, throat going dry.

"You will kill her tonight, because I so command. At that time you will become truly distorted as a human...a machine," Pierce's voice grew more profound.

"What the hell makes you think I'd ever lay a hand on her?" Bucky spat, clenching his teeth together.

"Because you won't know her," responded Pierce, reaching out and slamming Bucky back against the chair.

Bucky gasped and tried to wrench upwards, but the metal clamp wrapped over his torso held him still. Pierce pulled an extension to the chair from underneath the headrest. Bucky's eyes swiveled upwards the glimpse the horrific sight of the brain wiping crown. He whimpered in dawning fear as Pierce laid the instrument against his head.

Pierce grasped Bucky's jaw roughly, forcing him to open his mouth. He shoved the mouth guard against his gums so hard that Bucky tasted blood in his mouth.

Bucky gagged and thrashed about, attempting to free himself.

"These are restraints are made out of an adamantium-defiant alloy, I wouldn't waste your energy," Pierce said, walking out of the room and closed the cell door behind him.

Seething, Bucky glared at the man across the room. Pierce looked through the bars as the wiping crown zapped, coming to life.

Bucky's muscles twitched as the electric impulses crackled closer to his skull. The crown tightened around his forehead, Bucky screamed as the feeling of his brain being fried exploded through the electric tendrils that unraveled through his head.

His body convulsed and he screamed in agony. His vocals chords felt like they were going to rip apart as he expressed his torture through his cries. The moment from when the wipe began to the time he lost consciousness felt like an eternity.

* * *

Pierce laughed lightly in self-confidence as the mind-wiping contraption shut off and Bucky's body went limp. He always loved the exhausted black-outs the subjects experienced after the wipe.

Pierce walked to the simulation monitor and twisted the knob to the highest level. He typed the coordinates for a 'specially planned' simulation and activated it, then walked into the cell and unlatched the restraints.

"Let's play a game, shall we?" Pierce murmured as the lax muscles in Bucky's face began to twitch in the commencing perdition of his mind's simulation.

"A little game of cat and mouse," he continued, striding out of the room to a darkened portion of the cellar.

He approached another tarp-covered monitor and pulled the blanket off. Dust flew everywhere from lack of use and he shut off the long-running, stagnant monitor's systems. The lights in the darkened part of the basement flickered on and Pierce's eyes traveled over to the cell next to Bucky's. He grinned maliciously as he opened the door, gazing at his daughter who sat in a chair similar to Bucky's. Her skin was oily and her white hospital gown dingy. Her long, greasy hair splayed over the edges of the chair, desperately needing a wash.

"It's been a long time, girl. Now you're going to finally pay the price of killing her," Pierce growled, referring to late wife.

Pierce's head turned sharply when he heard Bucky give a terrifying roar.

"This is where the fun begins," chuckled Pierce, stepping back into the shadows to watch the show.

* * *

**A/N: I KNOW! It doesn't make a lot of sense, but the next chapter will clear up all questions! Thank you for reading! **


	14. Beginning of the End

**A/N: At the end of all things :( Well at least this story is just the prologue to the big SEQUEL! I am sad this one is over too, I was surprised how Inception-y it turned out. A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM! All right, we've got this chapter and then the epilogue next. And those who don't like a lot of violence need to take precautions in reading this chapter because it gets a little crazy. You've been warned! Enjoy!**

**Musical Inspiration:**

**Hand of Sorrow by Within Temptation (I save this for last. I'd like to thank them for this song giving me the ENTIRE idea for this story!)**

**I Am Hell by Machinehead**

**Death of Me by Red**

**Our Solemn Hour by Within Temptation**

Chapter 14

Beginning of the End

* * *

Lacey took a step towards the SHIELD agents as they threw open the cellar door and charged inside. Lacey lurched forward to follow but a blinding flash of light glared out of the cellar and she stumbled backwards. Lacey threw her arms up over her face to protect her vision. The light didn't die out, it remained bright. She blinked repeatedly, wondering why the shine didn't disappear.

She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again as her pupils became adjusted to the searing burn of the white light. She stared at a fixture above her head, hearing the uncomfortable buzzing noise that it created.

Lacey tensed in shock, noticing slowly that she lay on something.

"What the hell...?" she gasped, lifting her head, finding herself feeling weak.

She looked down the length of her petite body and saw she wore a white hospital gown. Her bare feet and shins looked dirty and pale.

Lacey propped herself up shakily on her elbows and took in her surroundings. She was in Jack Jefferson's cellar? Had she been shot and captured when the SHIELD agents invaded Jack's house?

Lacey paused momentarily, concentrating on noticing any afflictions on her being. She seemed unharmed except for her odd exhaustion.

She nearly fell out of the chair when a horrible scream erupted on her left. She sharply looked over to see Bucky convulsing more violently than she'd ever seen in the simulation chair. Lacey stood but faltered, dropping to the ground. Lacey glared at her practically useless legs in utter disarray. They acted as if she hadn't used them in ages. And strangely, her lungs worked overtime just from her tumble out of the chair.

"B-Bucky?" Lacey gasped, placing a hand on her heaving chest in pain.

Bucky gagged horridly as his tremors gripped his body and rattled him.

"He can't hear you," a voice called out, giving Lacey another start.

She looked up and saw Jack Jefferson step out of the shadows, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Jack, what are you-?" Lacey shrank back away from him as he grew closer.

"I guess it's about time you knew the truth. I'm not Jack Jefferson, Lacey. I'm Alexander Pierce."

Lacey's back pressed against the chair and she stared at him with wide, terrified eyes, "Alexander Pierce...the one who kidnapped me? But, you look exactly like me. You-"

"I am really your father, Lacey," he told her.

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Because for 24 long years you've been a burden to me. I've only wanted to serve HYDRA, the organization that have turned the tables of history. You took the only thing that separated me from my service, my beautiful wife. You killed her in childbirth, so I did what man any man would do to a murderer. I punished you. By the time you were seventeen, I'd had about enough of you. I wiped you and put you in sporadic cryogenic suspension. Eventually your body was an available test subject for an idea I had to make our most influential tool even stronger. Nothing fuels hate like a lost love, I know that more than most. I linked your minds together in this machine. You shared every thought I implanted into the simulator, growing closer and closer in your escape from that fake plant in Switzerland to your travels here. It was like writing a book."

Lacey's body trembled, eyes flicking over to Bucky, who'd fallen on the floor from his convulsions. Lacey looked back at Pierce and opened her mouth to speak in a raspy voice, "How on earth could you make those details in our minds. I remember everything!"

"I merely put the plot line in your memories. Your mind created the rest for itself in attempt to piece reality together. You've been in suspended animation on and off for years, I just recently pulled you off the ice to complete my plans," Pierce responded.

"What about Bucky?" Lacey panted, looking over at the pained super soldier.

"I woke him up only when he lay on the chair before I wiped his memory. He's not going to remember what happened until I use the words that will snap him back into reality. With the form of wipe he received, he'll remember you long enough to be scarred, then he will pass out. He'll be returned to the memory wipe machine of course, he can't remember any of the details. But you see, when memory is wiped, you always hold deep-down feelings in your heart. He'll forever remember the guilt of killing the woman he loves. He'll know deep down that he's nothing but a cold-blooded killer and do as I ask. I programmed it exactly so," chuckled Pierce, "Brilliant, isn't it?"

Lacey shook, feeling tears stinging her eyes in fear. Pierce gave her a snarled smile and stepped back, "All I have to do is ask and he'll do what I tell him."

"Soldier!" yelled Pierce, directing his voice to Bucky, "Rise."

Bucky's body froze and Lacey felt nauseated when his body contorted in an inhuman way. His arms flipped back and pushed up with his legs, forming his body into a bridge position. He lifted his upper body upright awkwardly as if a string were attached to his chest. He stood like a zombie, head tilted, jaw slack, arms hanging at his sides. His eyes glazed over, staring at Pierce blankly.

"The time has come for retribution. Today starts the beginning of the end," Pierce told him firmly, "We start by eradicating the parasites. Kill this creature by any means possible."

Lacey almost shrieked in fear as Bucky's empty stare followed Pierce's finger pointing at her. Bucky straightened up with a deadpan expression, then rotated his cybernetic arm roughly, clicking it into position and gearing it up for use.

"No..." Lacey breathed, scrambling on her hands and knees away.

She couldn't help but keep the panic out of her expression. She felt extremely weakened by her time spent in suspended animation. Bucky held the advantage of being toned after the super soldier serum was injected into him. And with his cybernetic arm, she knew that she was in grave danger.

Bucky strode purposefully out of his cell and into Lacey's. He stopped before her as she cowered in the corner of the room. She drew her knees to her chest and looked at Bucky in terror. Bucky stared at her, then turned to Pierce, "This parasite?"

"That's the one," snorted Pierce, crossing his arms in boredom and examined his nails.

Bucky swiveled back around to glower at Lacey.

"Stand," Bucky commanded.

"I-I can't. My legs aren't strong enough," squeaked Lacey, body quaking.

Bucky scowled and hissed through his teeth, "Stand and defend yourself."

"I _can't_," growled Lacey, tears now streaming down her cheeks, "Just finish it!"

Bucky snarled and swiftly grabbed Lacey's right wrist with his adamantium. With an dark expression and a tweak of his metal fingers, he crushed every bone in Lacey's wrist.

Lacey screamed in agony as her bones were ground to powder in her hand. She looked away, not wanting to see the bloody, mangled mess.

"I said stand and defend!" Bucky roared, jerking her arm roughly, popping the elbow and tearing her forearm clean from her body.

Lacey's mind couldn't even comprehend the pain she experienced as her body part ripped away. She stared at the space that her arm used to inhabit and opened her mouth to cry out, but no sound escaped her lungs.

Bucky lunged at her again, and this time Lacey couldn't say anything.

Bucky grabbed her by her long hair and pulled her into the light. Lacey gasped in pain and swiped at him uselessly with her only hand.

"Bucky, please!" she screamed, turning to look at his empty face.

He struck out at her, punching her with his flesh hand in the face. Even his human hand delivered blows that could knock a regular human senseless. Surprisingly, his punch didn't knock her out. She spit blood from her mouth as she landed back on the floor. She stared at the ceiling in inexplicable pain, then cried out when Bucky came at her again.

She put all her might into kicking him in the groin as he assaulted her. He fell back in shock, not as taken aback as she hoped. He growled at her through clenched teeth and jumped at her once more.

Lacey pulled back her left leg and kicked again, but this time he'd prepared himself. He grasped her by the thigh with his flesh hand and put his booted foot on her sternum to brace himself.

"BUCKY!" screamed Lacey in horror, but his body was already in motion.

He swung his bionic arm in the air and the sharp elbow down swiftly on her left mid-femur. There was a sickening squelch and crack, causing Lacey's eyes see white.

Lacey stared upwards, slowly dragging her eyes down to look at Bucky's job on her leg. She felt shaken, seeing blood pooling around the stump of a leg left on her body.

"B-Buck-y..." gasped Lacey, dropping her head to the floor as torment flooded her being.

Bucky towered over her and glared. Off in the distance, Lacey could hear Pierce scream, "Finish it now!"

Bucky reached down and placed his metal fingers around Lacey's neck. All he needed to do was squeeze and her lifeblood would drain.

She locked eyes with him, looking for any familiarity in his storm-colored irises. For just a moment, they looked at one another.

"Bucky...if this...is what needs to happen...then so be it. But...don't let him...brainwash you..." she gagged, wrapping her hand's fingers around his cool wrist, "Don't...let him win..."

Bucky blinked for the first time since he attacked her. He remained in his place, freezing all his movements.

"No..." Pierce said, "Finish her!"

Bucky turned to Pierce in confusion.

"KILL HER!" Pierce yelled fiercely.

Bucky looked back at Lacey and loosened his grip on her throat. He looked at her in utter discombobulation and stumbled back.

"WINTER SOLDIER," Pierce shouted clearly and firmly.

Bucky flinched recognition washing over his expression. His eyes fell on Lacey, who squinted up at him from her bloody pool.

"L-Lacey, what happened...?"

Lacey watched him with sad eyes as the light left her expression. The blood loss overtook her as her eyes slid shut, her head falling slack to the side in unconsciousness.

* * *

"What happened to her?" demanded Bucky, rounding on Pierce.

Pierce looked at the super soldier calmly and answered, "You killed her in cold blood while in your crazed state."

"How? How!" Bucky shakily inquired, looking at her in horror.

"You are a machine, Soldier. Nothing more than a machien," growled Pierce.

"NO!" Bucky felt hot tears spring to his eyes as he fell to his knees in the blood at Lacey's side.

"No, no, no! Lacey...I-I'm so sorry!" Bucky cried, tears sliding dripping from his eyes as he picked her upper body up off the ground and cradled her in his arms.

With an obnoxiously loud yawn, Pierce exclaimed, "All right, that's enough. We've got more important things to do. WINTER SOLDIER DOWN."

Bucky stiffened, then wavered on his knees slightly as a stunned expression crept across his features.

Bucky's eyes focused on Lacey's slack face as he felt darkness grow in his vision. He slumped forward and fell across her. His awareness faded as his cheek landed with a splash in Lacey's blood. As the last of the shadow enveloped him, he stared at Lacey sickened by her vacant face.

She was gone and it was all his fault.

* * *

Pierce looked at the disgusting sight before him.

"Great. Now we gotta pull him out of the blood and clean him up," grumbled Pierce, pulling a walkie-talkie from off his belt loop and switched it on, "I've contained the Winter Soldier. Bring in the team."

Within seconds, a group of 10 black-clad officers ran in the room, wielding machine guns and assault rifles.

"Put the Winter Soldier back in cryo once you get him cleaned up. I'll have use for him again very soon now that he's correctly primed for the next step," Pierce instructed them, walking over to look down disdainfully at Lacey and Bucky.

The officers obeyed and five of them dragged Bucky out of the cellar. Pierce glanced sidelong at Lacey, then nudged her with the toe of his shoe.

She groaned a bit under her breath.

"She's still alive, damn it all," he croaked to the closest officer.

Pierce frowned at the situation and debated on taking the gun from the officer to shoot her in the head. But that would be too easy. His desire to make Lacey suffer as much as possible coursed through him and he got a wonderful idea.

"Get a doctor in here and have him safe this," Pierce ordered, pointing to the blood girl laying lifelessly on the floor.

"Sir?" the officer inquired in confusion.

"I think I may have use for her...get a surgeon to patch her up and put her back in cryogenic sleep," Pierce replied, walking away from the mess, scuffling his feet on the floor to rid the soles of any blood.

A ringing sounded in Pierce's pocket and he reached down to pull out his iPhone. He switched it on, then held it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Alexander?" a very cagey voice returned.

"Nick Fury, is that you? I haven't heard from you in months, how are you?"

"As well as expected, I suppose. I called you for a purpose though. Can you fly out and meet me in D.C. to discuss the job opening you offered?" Fury inquired.

"I still owe you the favor, so of course," sneered Pierce.

It hadn't been long since the doppelgänger of his daughter was in 'danger' and Fury rescued her, playing right into Pierce's hands and his dark plans. It couldn't be more perfect to have the HYDRA spy who looked like Lacey agree to take her place. Just to ensure no one would question his daughter's strange disappearance.

"Well, name the time and place and I would like to talk."

"I'll drop by the day after tomorrow. I have a few things I need to clear up before I come," Pierce told Fury as he watched Lacey being taken away on a stretcher.

"I'll await your call, then," Fury responded shortly, hanging up the phone.

Pierce smiled viciously as he put his phone away. He looked at the chair that bore the Winter Soldier, proud of how everything worked out.

Not only did he create the core of the master assassin, Winter Soldier. But he might have been on the cusp of something else too.

Only time would tell.


	15. Epilogue - Stepping Into The Light

**A/N: We've finally come to the end! I'm so sad for this jaunt's end, but we have so much more to look forward to in the sequel! Please follow me, I should have the first chapter posted within the week!**

**A shout out to all the reviewers! Thank you so much for your love, support, and fangirling through this whole story! I love you all and hope you'll all return to read my next installment of the Adventures of Bucky and Lacey! Peace!**

**Musical Inspiration:**

**Time by Hans Zimmer**

**End of the Line by Henry Jackman**

**To Feel Alive by IAMEVE**

Epilogue

Stepping Into The Light

* * *

It was a cool, calm night in Japan. From his simple rented apartment, Nick Fury could see the bright street lights of Tokyo. He clasped his hands behind his back and stared out into the night, mind pondering his beloved organization, SHIELD's assimilation.

He knew it wasn't all for nothing. They'd saved many lives through their good works. But the sickening knowledge that the world was left exposed and unprotected from any terrorist act was more that disquieting.

Fury suddenly tensed, sensing an unusual change in the breeze coming from the natural air in his apartment. He turned, automatically pulling off his sunglasses to peer around the room.

The lights were off, since Fury was preparing to go to bed. But he knew someone was there besides himself. His hand slid to the gun that always rested on his hip, ready to whip it out and shoot the intruder.

He squinted warily, then saw a distortion in the regular shadow of the far left of the room.

"You think you're being a creepy-ass intruder, because you sure as hell don't scare me," Fury growled.

No sound returned.

"Are we going to kill me, talk to me, or what? I have half a mind to turn the light on and make you scuttle back to wherever you came from," Fury snapped, "I don't like waiting around."

_"...The game has changed..." _a husky voice responded slowly, _"...The tables have turned."_

Fury didn't recognize the voice. He pulled his gun and aimed it at the shadow,"Spit it out, goddamnit! I can see you and I will shoot a hole in that poetic throat of yours."

_"My mind was remade, I now see things clearly now," _the voice came again.

"I'm growing really bored with your behavior. And when I get bored with someone's behavior, I fire them or kill them. You aren't my employee, so..." Fury's finger danced around the trigger of the gun.

_"I was once your enemy when I hadn't a mind of my own. I've been...recalibrated and wish to redeem my despicable deeds,"_ the voice said.

Fury glared, "I'm not hiring."

_"You desire to put SHIELD back online. I will help with that if you let me."_

"I don't recruit faceless shadows," Fury responded, "You step into the light and face me like a man."

With a slight hesitation, the shadows moved alone the wall and came to the light switch. Fury swore he could hear a strange mechanical clicking noise as the man lifted his had to turn on the light.

Fury swore quite colorfully when his eyes adjusted to see man who'd become Winter Soldier standing before him, mask-less and weaponless.

"Get the hell out of my apartment!" hissed Fury.

Winter wore a simple black hoodie, jeans and boots. He wasn't in the outfit he'd donned while attacking SHIELD for HYDRA.

"Have you not been listening? I've been recalibrated...my stint with HYDRA is up, as it should have been long ago. In fact, I never should have been there. I should have died when I fell..."

"Then you remember. Rogers said you remember your past. I didn't believe him though. That damned kid has more faith than all the U.S.'s church congregations put together," snorted Fury, sensing that the soldier didn't want to harm him.

Fury lowered his weapon as Winter nodded, "And I thank God that he didn't give up on me. Being in that state was like having your mind pulled out and having someone else's brain shoved back in. I have many reasons that I want to be on this team. Most importantly, revenge against HYDRA. And you already know that I damn well have the abilities to make that happen. Second, I...I would like to be on the Captain's side. We were friends once and I'd like to redeem myself under his command."

Fury looked at Barnes seriously and warned, "This better not be a trick."

"It is not," answered Barnes firmly.

"Know that if it is, I've got people at my disposal that can take you out quicker than you can blink. Let's not forget I'm friends with Bruce Banner."

"A piece of information that I'll keep in mind," Barnes muttered, shuddering from obvious experience against the enormous green rage monster.

"From here on in, you do what I tell you. I'm not going to control you, but I do expect you to take my orders if you have SHIELD's best interest in mind. You're fighting for our team now and the tasks assigned to you aren't as...dark," Fury explained.

Barnes nodded, eyes glinting with the hope of a new life.

"I see you have a suit?" Fury inquired, looking at the blue jacket and brown cargo pants under the crook of his arm.

Barnes glanced down, then affirmed Fury's question with another nod.

"Then suit up."

* * *

**Bucky Barnes and Lacey Turner will return.**


End file.
